Return of the Foul-Play Pirate Fleet Admiral
by Galley-La Foreman
Summary: Unexpected names from adventures past return before the Straw Hat Pirates seeking an end to a newfound reign of an old foe who has come into power with a Devil Fruit, in addition to a brand new crew. Only the Straw Hat Pirates can save a candy-themed island, and rescue an old friend, from the oppressive clutches of the villainous foe. Takes place just prior to Sabaody Archipelago.
1. From Sky to Sea, Conis' Troubled Descent

**Foreword:** This story is intended as sort of "what if there was another island before Sabaody?" deal. It brings back a few minor (but recognizable) characters who haven't been seen since East Blue and a few more from the Grand Line and is set just before the Sabaody Archipelago arc, so this is a little bit before the time skip. As such, there is a hint of slavery in this fanfic, though not quite to the extent of what happens at Sabaody Archipelago. This fanfic is positioned in this specific spot in the timeline, again for the slavery theme, and also because I feel like the antagonists would fit in around that point of the story (very tough adversaries, but not New World levels of toughness despite one of the original Devil Fruits in the fanfic being quite extraordinary - the user simply does not have enough experience with it to be a terrifying A-list enemy). As for the story length, I'm going to shoot for somewhere around 30 chapters, all of which will be almost bite-size chapters at around 1000-2000 words each for the sake of easy reading. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Feel free to review.

* * *

 _"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 01: From Sky to Sea, Conis' Troubled Descent**

It had been a long and taxing day working at the Pumpkin Cafe, with relaxation under the sun being the reward for Conis. The young Skypiean sighed contently as she rested her head against the tree that bordered the edge of the island, closing her eyes as her pet cloud fox Su nestled against her. There had been so much peace in Skypiea for a time now, and it was all owed to a group of friendly pirates that Conis had come to know as friends. Would she ever see them again? It wasn't likely, they all had their own dreams and wishes that surely kept them away from Skypiea... but perhaps one day?

Conis half opened her eyes and smiled lazily to Su, reaching over to pet her as she glanced off towards the sea of white clouds. She would surely have to return home at some point, her father would be worried about her if she was out for too long. If anything, Pagaya was at least a loving father to Conis. The thought of her gentle father worrying about her caused a small giggle to escape Conis as she slowly sat up and stretched her tired arms before letting out a very long yawn. Su's head raised to look at Conis before mimicking the yawn, prompting Conis to laugh as she fidgeted with a small pouch that she had tied to her side. She carefully pulled out a small loaf of bread and smiled to Su. "I was saving this for the birds, but I don't think they're coming by today. Would you like to share it?"

Su bounced around excitedly, making her trademark "su" sounds as Conis laughed happily. As Conis reached out to place her hand on Su's head, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to spot a bird lazily flying towards them, prompting her to raise to her feet happily and wave to the bird with both hands. "Over here, mister bird! I've got plenty of bread for y- ... o-oh my."

As the bird drew closer, Conis began to realize how frighteningly large the animal was. What Conis believed to be a gull flying slowly towards her was anything but! She watched as the large bird, which was easily the size of her entire _house_ , flew towards her at a rapid rate. As it grew close, Conis panicked and lept to her feet as she prepared to retreat, but she was just too slow. The bird seized her with its talons and quickly turned around and began to head back to the clouds, prompting Su to bounce around and "su" loudly at the sight of Conis being taken away. All Conis could do was respond by screaming in fear at the bird, but it seemed to have little effect.

* * *

How much time had passed? Conis had fallen asleep several times, and she was getting desperately hungry. The bird had been flying without rest for what felt like an eternity, and had surely put more distance between Conis and her home than she cared to guess. She groaned to herself as she looked around helplessly, barely able to muster enough strength to wiggle about in the bird's grasp.

The bird continued on for some time further with Conis almost falling asleep from exhaustion, and she surely would have done so if it had not been for a sight on the horizon. Was it an island? Conis wasn't sure, exactly. She believed herself to be looking at massive trees, but something about them looked very unusual... and then there were bubbles. Hundreds and hundreds of bubbles. Her eyes fluttered wide open as she looked in awe at what they were approaching. When the bird drew near, one rising bubble brushed lightly against Conis' leg, yet it did not burst. Her eyes fluttered quickly before she glanced at the bird holding her and then back at the rising bubbles... and then she hatched an idea. She waited and waited for another bubble to be rising just below her and, when it looked like there was one headed straight for her, Conis turned her head, opened her mouth, and chomped down on the bird's talon as hard as she could. The bird's eyes widened suddenly as it let out a gasping cry and accidentally loosened its talons, prompting Conis to wiggle free and drop from its grasp. Again, she let out a frightful cry as she began to fall but, once she collided with a bubble, she sunk into it and then found that, slowly but surely, it began to descend. It must have been lighter than the previous bubble? Conis hadn't the slightest clue but, upon glancing into the sky above, she saw no sign of the bird. Did it even realize that she had wiggled free?

After some time, the bubble had drifted close to the ground. As she glanced around, Conis noted that all of the "trees" had numbers on them. Where was she!?

 _ **BANG!**_

Without any warning, the bubble burst! That sound though, that was not the sound of bubble itself bursting! As she screamed once again and fell with a loud thud to the ground, Conis forced herself into a sitting position as she grimaced and grasped at her elbow. "What is that, sister? Is it human? It has wings! Oh, I want it!"

The battered and tired Conis raised her eyes to spot two humans before her, one male and one female, clothed in strange white suits and wearing strange domes over their heads. Despite looking peculiar, there was no denying their ominous faces. Conis knew right away that she wasn't welcome before them.

"Is she an angel? Are angels real?" The female sneered at Conis, almost as if she viewed her as an animal before stepping towards her. The male joined in as he idly picked his nose, an action that made Conis curl her lip. "She will make a perfect slave for you, brother! Don't you agree?"

"S-SLAVE!?" Conis' eyes widened as she recoiled in fear. The two strange looking humans did not respond as they drew close. "P-Please don't hurt me!"

"Ohoho, too late!" The female raised a small firearm and pointed it at Conis, disdain etched on her face. Just as she started to pull the trigger, a large metal rod knocked the gun away and Conis was grabbed and pulled by an unseen entity. "You're not enslaving this girl! C'mon, we're gettin' outta here!"

As there was a commotion from the two strange humans, Conis struggled to her feet to weakly run with her... captor? Savior? She had no idea! She glanced towards him, glimpsing a blue and gray headband that covered a head of shaggy black hair. He wore a gray jacket with a blue stripe running down each arm and snakes sewn into the chest. He looked pretty scraggly and untrustworthy but, at least for now, Conis assumed that she was in safer hands.

After a moment of running, though with no end in sight, she finally worked up the courage to speak. "W-Who are you?"

The man offered her an awkward and almost ugly smile in return as he thumbed to himself. "No time to talk now, gotta get outta here... but me? Name's Gin!"

Conis struggled to keep up with the man, almost stumbling over her own feet as the tired Skypiean did her best to keep his pace. Just what was happening? First a giant bird abducted her, then she dropped to an island full of weird trees and giant bubbles, and then she was rescued from some weird people in white costumes who had wanted to enslave her! "G-Goodness!"

Gin barely acknowledged her exclamation as he caught sight of his small boat, hastily throwing Conis towards the boat. She landed smack dab in the middle with a loud thud, prompting her to rub her now aching leg. So many aches! She truly wasn't getting a break at all! Before she could tend to herself too much, Gin called out to her. "Sky Island girl! Get in the back and hit those jet dials as soon as I'm in!"

Blinking back in confusion, Conis analyzed him before turning her gaze to several dials at the back of the boat. What was he doing with those? How did he know that she was from a sky island? She had never seen him in her home before. She was broken from her train of thought as he crashed into the boat and glared at her. She jumped slightly before turning and smacking the dials. Immediately, the boat took off into a roar. The small vessel quickly soared between the strange looking numbered trees until they broke the open ocean without looking back.

* * *

It had been a few minutes since Conis had fled with Gin in his small boat, their pace now lessened as they drifted quietly across the gentle waves. Not a word was spoken in all of that time until Conis eventually stirred out of sheer uncomfortableness, reaching out slowly towards Gin. "U-Um, Mister... Gin? Why did you help me? Who are you?"

Gin did not answer for a moment, his head dropping slightly as he glanced off towards the water before turning over his shoulder and looking at Conis quietly. Why wasn't he saying anything? Conis simply blinked back at him, her big doe eyes wide with curiousity. After several more quiet seconds, Gin let out the quietest chuckle as he shook his head and glanced back out onto the water. "Guess I'm just tired of seeing people pushed around. Besides, I'm not gonna start turning a blind eye to slavery." He peered up towards the sun for a moment and sighed before reaching for his oars. The dials had almost run their course.

"But..." Conis paused and bit her lip when Gin himself had paused at the sound of her voice, yet he did not turn around. She swallowed and continued. "You didn't have to bring me with you... did you?"

"If I left you behind, you woulda wanted to kill yourself. I'm never gonna rest with that on my conscious again." He remained still, head lowered straight down as if in shame for some reason before he carefully attached the oars to the side of the boat and started rowing.

Again? Conis shifted nervously at the hint of what could have been a dark side to the man. Even still, he had just saved her from being enslaved. "U-Um... I'm... I'm really grateful. Thank you, Gin. For saving me, I mean."

Gin rowed slowly for a few more seconds before gently letting go of the oars and turning to face Conis. He looked tired, maybe even visibly shaken. There was a glint of something in his eyes, perhaps a tear or two? Before Conis could say anything, Gin leaned over and placed both hands on her shoulders. "You don't have to thank me for doing the right thing. You're gonna be safe now, though. I promise, Sky Island girl."

"C-Conis." Her voice was hardly audibly as she hastily fumbled her own name. It prompted a mild grin from Gin as he pat her on the shoulder and turned to continue rowing. Silence, again, took hold.

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_**


	2. An Island Enslaved, Return of Don Krieg

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 02: An Island Enslaved, Return of Don Krieg**

"Sabaody Archipelago?" Conis tilted her head as she glanced towards Gin. "What a curious name. Why were all of the big trees numbered?"

"The mangroves?" Gin, who had been facing away from Conis after their initial departure, had since turned and was rowing as he sat facing her. "There are seventy nine of 'em, they're numbered to represent which district they each fall under. You dropped into Grove 45 where I was busy gettin' some supplies before headin' back out. Unlucky for you, the world nobles happened to me nearby." His voice trailed off slightly as he shook his head. "Good thing I didn't hit 'em. We'd be dead."

Conis' big eyes widened in shock as she put a hand to her mouth. "Dead? Why!?"

"The world nobles are the descendants of nineteen of the twenty kings who established the World Government. They've milked that reputation for a long time, and it's turned 'em all into pretty horrible people. If you lay a hand on one of 'em, an admiral from the Marines shows up with a warship." Gin paused as he looked at Conis, trying to judge how she handled the information. She still looked a little uncomfortable from the prospect of being dead, but she didn't seem to be responding to anything he just said. It took Gin a moment before he realized why, shaking his head and grinning. "Sorry, you wouldn't know about any of that, would you? They're bad people, and hittin' them will get you in trouble."

"O-Oh." Conis clenched his fists as they rested on her lap, feeling nervous over the past encounter with the two strangely dressed people who were apparently known as world nobles. After a moment, she eased up and smiled to Gin. "Well, at least they're behind us now! Will they follow us? Where are we going now?"

Gin paused, his eyes dropping to the bottom of the boat. "Now, we try to stay safe from another dangerous guy. If he finds us, he'll kill us too."

Conis hugged herself tightly at Gin's words, biting her lip for a moment before working up the will to respond. "Who... is the other dangerous man?"

"I man I would once lay my life down for, but now he'd try to take it anyway." Gin glanced off at the sea, as if looking towards something. "My old captain. Don Krieg."

* * *

"Bwahahaha! Is that so?" The sinister laugh echoed throughout the small chamber as Don Krieg lowered the sheet from his gaze, averting his eyes towards the trembling man before him. He was a small, frail man who was obviously terrified beyond belief to be standing in front of Don Krieg. He stammered, attempting to answer, but nothing came. His response did not appear to sit well with Krieg as he glared back for what felt like an eternity before slamming the sheet down on a table beside his massive stone chair. He rose to his feet, towering over the frail man. "YOU CANNOT EVEN ANSWER ME? HM!?"

The man began to shake uncontrollably as he dropped to his knees, almost crying out in fear at the imposing volume of Krieg's voice. Still unable to respond, Krieg stomped over to the man before shooting his arm out and grabbing hold of the man's face. Gripping his skull tightly, Krieg lifted the man clear off the floor and glared into the terrified eyes that peered out from between his fingers. "You useless old fool! Do you have any idea what I do to those who fail me? Or what I will do to this miserable little piece of shit island that you call a home?"

Krieg did not wait for the man to respond before violently throwing him against the wall. The man collapsed on the floor in pain as Krieg continued to berate him. "Damn old man! Can't even do your job properly? I will see to it that you are made an example of."

"N-No, please!" The old man reached towards Krieg out of desperation. "Anything but that! I... I'll do better, I promise!"

Krieg regarded the man in silence for a moment as he pleaded, arm outstretched, before he suddenly lifted his foot and brought it upon the man's hand, forcing it to the ground where Krieg pressed it tightly to the floor, twisting his heel as he sneered at the man. "I don't believe in promises, old man! You do as I say, not as you promise!" Krieg paused and looked towards the door. "Pearl! Valdivina!"

Entering the room were two of Krieg's subordinates, Pearl and Valdivina. Pearl, a wiley looking man covered from head to toe in pearl-encrusted metallic plates and body armor. Pearl had been a member of Krieg's crew for as long as either could remember. Valdivina, on the other hand, was a new addition. She was a tall and lithe young woman, her beautiful face containing its fair share of freckles and long red hair hanging down to her waist, resting against her tiger-pattern bodycon dress which complimented her black heels. Krieg motioned towards Pearl. "Pearl, remove this man from my presence. He needs to inspire the rest of his people by being made an example of."

Pearl grinned sleazily as he leaned over to scoop the man up, his black curls bobbing underneath his pearl helmet. "Come with me, gramps. We gotta remind everyone who they work for, hm?"

As Pearl departed the room with the man in tow, Krieg picked up the sheet that the man had given him, skimming over it for a moment before glancing towards Valdivina. "This report states that the workers are behind schedule... my schedule... BY THREE DAYS!?"

Krieg slammed the sheet down again, causing Valdivina to jump ever so slightly before smiling to her superior. "Captain Krieg, are you not making an example of that old man? He was the village elder, yes? I am certain that his punishment will remind the rest of the workers that they must adhere to the schedule. However, it does not help... may I initiate another youth purge?"

"Youth purge? Just as on the last island?" Krieg smirked as he walked towards the solitary window in the room, glancing out to look over the vast number of shackled inhabitants of the island who were tirelessly chopping lumber and smithing. "Perhaps we will do so anyway. For fun."

* * *

Conis' eyes widened in shock. "H-He enslaves entire islands!?"

"Weak islands that canot protect themselves, but yes." Gin slowed his rowing as he glanced towards the island that they were approaching. "Don Krieg makes everyone on the island work for him, shackling them and forcing them all to build ships so that he can increase the size of his fleet. He failed to conquer the Grand Line before, but this time he doesn't intend on failing... not with his new crew, or the Devil Fruit he ate."

"Devil Fruit?" Conis' mind flashed back to Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He had eaten such a thing and was capable of stretching. It was later found out that Enel, who had lorded over Skypiea with an iron fist, had also eaten a Devil Fruit and thus was able to turn into lightning. Her curiousity got the better of her as she quickly asked the question that was on her mind. "What does his Devil Fruit allow him to do, Gin?"

Gin's eyes stayed on the water, his expression hardening. "Don Krieg's fruit gave him the power to defeat anyone. Even other Devil Fruit users. He once fought a man who could turn into wind. He could blow any of us away, make hurricanes and tornadoes, but Don Krieg... he reached into the man's tornado and grabbed him. The windstorms stopped, and the man couldn't fight back because Don Krieg had sucked the strength from him."

"And... then?" Conis leaned forward slightly, genuinely curious.

Gin raised his eyes to meet hers, his voice stone cold. "Don Krieg killed him."

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_**


	3. Gingerbread Houses, Landing in Candytown

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 03: Gingerbread Houses, Landing in Candytown**

"Ooooh! That island looks so coooool! Hey! Franky! Make the Sunny go faster!" Luffy could barely contain his boundless excitement as he practically hung over the side of the ship, clinging dangerously to the railing by only one hand.

Nami cautiously looked towards the island that loomed in the distance, but she was quickly distracted from doing so as she caught sight of Luffy's recklessness caused by his mounting excitement. Without delay, Nami ran to the side to scold him like a child. "Luffy, you idiot! Get up here before you fall into the water!"

As Luffy audibly laughed from the side of the ship, his body recoiled annd he shot back up onto the deck of the ship as he ran full steam ahead to the front of the ship to look at the island that they were approaching. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he smiled like a hungry kid in a candy store. Chopper and Usopp weren't far behind, but they could never match Luffy's enthusiasm for the island, not when everything about the island from the ship's view looked edible.

Sanji flicked his cigarette as he peered at the island curiously, noting that the coastal village they were slowly drifting towards quite literally looked like a gingerbread town. He took a few steps forward, ignoring the enthusiasm of Luffy as he directed his question towards the more level-headed crew members. "What's up with this island?"

Brook tilted his head curiously as he looked for himself. "Yohohoho! Gingerbread? Fudge? Toffee? Is this the island of a lonely confectioner? Oh, my mouth is practically salivating... but I don't have a mouth."

"A lonely... confectioner... ?" Sanji trailed off as he took a moment to imagine a lonely confectioner or, in his mind, an adorable girl wearing an apron and a chef's hat with bits of flour adorably smeared to her face as she would offer him a spoonful of cookie batter. Naturally, this resulted in Sanji's legs waving about wildly as hearts blossomed from his eyes.

Sanji began rambling incoherently about the sweet, sugary girl he imagined as Zoro just blankly stared at him for a moment, blinking lazily before groaning and stepping forward beside Franky, Nami and Robin. "Idiot cook... but this island doesn't seem normal. Did the people who live there make it?"

"Ah, who knows! But if there's as much sugar as I think there is, then I should be able to get plenty of cola!" Franky uncrossed his arms and raised his sunglasses, grinning as he looked up towards Usopp. "Hey! Usopp! Come help me get the ship moving faster!"

"Oh, yeah! Right!"

Usopp hopped down excitedly and followed Franky inside as Chopper and Luffy were left staring ahead at the island, their eyes twinkling excitedly. Just then, Chopper perked up quite quickly and pointed beside the gingerbread houses that peppered the coastal village. "Oooh! Luffy, look over there! A lollipop forest! is it real candy? I wanna lick one of the trees!"

Luffy looked in the direction that Chopper indicated and, indeed, there was a forest where, instead of trees, there were red and white lollipops. "Oooohooo! They look so good! I can't wait!" Chopper looked at Luffy in surprise as he said that, but it was too late. "Gomu gomu no rocket!"

Nami watched on with bubbling rage as Luffy hastily rocketed through the air, practically yelling at him loud enough to wake the dead. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT!? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO LIVES THERE!"

As the Thousand Sunny and the voices screaming at him from aboard disappeared behind Luffy, the delicious island grew closer and closer and closer to him until...

 _ **CRASH!**_

Luffy found himself crashing straight through the wall of one of the houses, littering gingerbread debris everywhere inside. An old couple leaped out of the way at the last second, huddling in shock as they stared at the gingerbread rubble that laid where their kitchen table was once. Neither of them had the courage to move and investigate, until the husband took a few steps forward but was immediately driven back by some rather "voracious" sounds coming from wihin the rubble. He blinked quickly, listening closely for a moment before stepping forward again, this time carefully moving bits of debris until Luffy was visible, busily chowing down on the gingerbread. He paused and looked at the old man and smiled broadly. "Hey, old man! Sorry about your wall, but your house is delicious!"

"A-Are you..." The old man stammered as he looked at Luffy, causing a perplexed Luffy to look at him curiously until he was finally able to continue. "Are you a... pirate?"

"Yeah." Luffy's answer was, of course, as blunt as could be. Both the old man and the old lady immediately responded by pulling away in absolute shock, almost as if they were deeply terrified of him. They both bowed before him, almost quivering as they cowered, which prompted Luffy to stand up from the gingerbread debris and look at them awkwardly. "Hey, what're you guys doing?"

"Forgive us! We had no idea that you were a pirate!" The old man clenched his eyes closed tightly as the old woman held back tears. "A-Are you with the others? The ones who are on the other side of the island?"

"Huh? You guys are weird. I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He grinned at both of them as he adjusted his hat enthusiastically. "I'm gonna be the one who finds One Piece!"

The old couple looked at each other, almost unsure of how to react to what was said, before the old woman glanced to Luffy. "Are you... with the rest of the pirates on the island?"

Luffy blinked several times before he looked at her oddly, tilting his head ever so slightly. "What do you mean, granny? I just got here! I wanted to see the lollipop forest! Is it real candy? Can I eat it? I'm so hungry!"

Both elderly inhabitants breathed a sigh of relief as they stood up, the old man taking the initiative. "Oh, thank goodness! Our entire east coast has been enslaved to work for them! It's only a matter of time before they come here, too! A-Are you here to help?"

As the Thousand Sunny pulled up at the wharf along the harbour, Luffy's expression quickly hardened as he looked between the two. "Enslaved by pirates? Who are they!?"

The old man gulped and lowered his voice, telling Luffy the name of the pirate crew. The name caused Luffy to stand up straight in shock, his eyes widening in surprise.

"The Krieg Pirates."

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_**


	4. Bon Bon Island, The Source of All Candy

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 04: Bon Bon Island,** **Bon Bon Island, The Source of All Candy**

"Don Krieg?" Nami's eyes widened in surprise as the old man mentioned the name to the entire Straw Hat crew after they had assembled.

"Shit..." Sanji pulled out a fresh cigarette, lighting it and sticking it between his lips as he narrowed his eyes. "What's that bastard doing here? I thought Luffy put him in his place."

Nami's eyes flicked about as she mulled things over before looking at Luffy. "Luffy, Don Krieg was on the Grand Line even before we were, it would make sense that he would want to return to conquer it. He was strong before, but now we're in much more dangerous territory. Does that mean... ?"

Usopp started to shake out of fear as he listened to Nami. "D-D-Does that mean Don K-Krieg got a lot stronger too? L-Like Luffy did?"

"It doesn't matter." Luffy clenched his fists as he looked at the hole in the wall that he had accidentally caused. "I'm gonna kick his ass no matter what for making people his slaves!" Luffy took a few steps out onto the other side of the wall before looking back inside. "Hey, gramps, how do we get to the west coast from here?"

"Well..." The old man started stroking his chin as he thought. "You could go along the coast, but that may take a long time. It might be better to venture through the middle of the island, straight through the Chocolate Volcano." At the mention of a chocolate volcano, half of the crew perked up excitedly.

"CHOCOLATE VOLCANO?" Chopper, Luffy and Usopp all shouted in unison before Luffy piped up on his own. "YOSH! WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE ISLAND!"

Nami hastily slapped Luffy, prompting a laugh from Robin. "Idiot! You only want to go through the middle because of the chocolate volcano!"

Robin turned her attention from Nami and Luffy, her eyes meeting the old couple. "This is a peculiar island, isn't it? Why is everything made out of candy, and how is there a chocolate volcano? That cannot be a natural phenomenon."

The old woman laughed and shook her head. "It's not, my dear! You're in Candytown, the largest port town of Bon Bon Island! Our island's eastern half is the world's largest producer of sweet treats! We've fashioned our towns out of candy to commemorate this feat! Our chocolate volcano is also an old inactive volcano that we turned into a chocolate factory!"

Zoro crossed his arms, absently looking around at the broken gingerbread walls before back glancing towards the old couple. "What about the other coasts?"

The old man raised a finger and spoke very matter-of-factly to the group. "Oh, they're all very different! This is our east coast, which is where we produce our candy. The north coast is where we harvest sugar from Sugarcane Fjord, but a lot of dangerous animals like the sugarcane which makes it very dangerous to go there at times! The south coast is uninhabited and is mostly jungle and swamp. It was the site of many battles during our civil war with the west coast, which is where Spicetown is. The people of Spicetown traditionally hated candies and sweet treats, and they wanted the island to produce only spices! One hundred years ago, we fought a horrible war with each other over the island's supply of cinnamon, but level heads eventually prevailed and we learned to share. We've been living in peace ever since, but then the Krieg pirates came a few days ago and..."

Gulping, the old woman continued. "That is when we lost direct contact with Spicetown. Our syrup scouts discovered that the Krieg pirates landed on the island and put everyone in shackles, forcing them to start building ships for them. We heard rumours of a growing pirate fleet that ventured from island to island, lording over citizens and ordering them to unwillingly expand the size of pirate fleet through forced slave labour. We... never thought that the rumours were true because they don't strike powerful islands."

"Until now, eh?" Franky readjusted his shades. "I think this Don Krieg guy was encountered long before I joined, but if we beat 'em once then we can beat 'em again! It will be a SUUUPER defeat!"

"Perhaps the man who left the pirate crew could help? The old man tapped his chin in thought. "He said that he wants to find a way to stop the pirates from using slave labour. I think he went to... oh, dear, where did he go?"

"Marshmallow Marsh, you old codger!" The old woman smacked her husband on the head before looking back to the Straw Hats. "He was a nice man, and he had a lovely young woman with him. She played beautiful music on a harp that we gave her."

"A guy from Krieg's crew and a girl playing a harp, huh?" Zoro rested his chin against his index finger. "Don't think we know them, do we?"

Usopp shook his head quickly. "I don't think there were any women on Don Krieg's ship, but maybe they'll want our help?"

"Marshmallow Marsh... ?" Nami tilted her head as she mulled the name over. "How do we get there? And why is it named that?"

"Well..." The old man smiled. "It's town surrounded by a swamp full of marshmallows! And instead of marsh water, it's hot chocolate! You might get very sticky if you try to go on foot. You should go on our syrup scouts. They'll get you to Marshmallow Marsh quickly! And you'll be dry, too!"

"Syrup scouts?" Robin looked perplexed at the name that had been spoken a few times, but nobody had bothered to questionw hat they were until now. "What are they?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked!" The old woman looked delighted to be explaining what they were. "Syrup scouts are a type of giant syrup snail that lives only on our island's west coast! They're very interesting creatures, and they secrete syrup from their syrup glands!" Several of the crew members expressed disgust, except for Luffy who looked enthralled. "Don't fret, it is very delicious syrup! We use it in everything! Our syrup snails make syrup like bees make honey! They're also big enough to ride, a lot like a horse only the ride is comfier and smoother!"

"Cooooooool!" Luffy jumped up and adjusted his hat. "Let's go get some snails to ride on!"

As Luffy started to dart out of the room, Nami glared at him before smiling warmly to the old man. "Where can we find these snails?"

"Oh, you can rent them right at the town gate! Just travel down the main road, you'll be there in no time!" And then, as the Straw Hats expressed their gratitude and began to depart, the old man and his wife waved farewell to them. "Best of luck, pirate crew!"

After that, there was merely silence until, finally, the old man turned his attention towards his wife. "You had better better start baking our dining room a new wall, dear."

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_**


	5. Claudio and Valdivina, Powers Revealed

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 05: Claudio and Valdivina, Powers Revealed**

Pearl, first mate of the Krieg Pirates, watched as fellow crewmember Claudio tightly tied the man that Pearl had escorted from Krieg's chamber to a large wooden stake. Claudio was a petite man, standing no higher than four feet, but he was ruggedly handsome with his slicked back black hair and chiseled facial features, tough his hair was slightly hidden by his off-white goggles. He dressed a little more casually, wearing a black denim vent with a large ghost spraypainted on the back, and cut-off denim shorts.

"Oi, Pearl, this is gonna be just like the last island, don'tcha think?" Claudio did not turn to look at Pearl as he continued to secure the man. "Last time we did this, the islanders weren't workin' very hard... but then we did this and it perked 'em all right up!"

"Heh heh, yeah." Pearl crossed his plate-clad arms as he approached, sneering at the restrained man. "Sorry, old guy, someone has to inspire and motivate your people! We've got a schedule to keep!"

The old man, who was now wearing nothing more than tattered pants, merely raised his head and stared at Pearl weakly, his face beaten and bruised from being carelessly dragged to the stake. Pearl merely sneered back, prompting the old man to lower his gaze once more. "This injustice will not stand, pirates. Someone will stop you."

"Hahaha, like who!?" Claudio burst into laughter as he looked at Pearl to see that he was amused as well. "Nobody on this island's gonna stick up for you! Those candy-making losers on the other coast aren't gonna do a thing! Who else do you have to place your trust in, eh? That traitor, Gin?"

Pearl groaned, shaking his head as he glanced to the dirty ground. "Hmph, Gin. He was never the same since he was caught in the captain's poison back at that stupid floating restaurant in East Blue. I knew he'd ditch the crew eventually."

Claudio finished securing the old man as he turned to look at Pearl. "Yeah, but what took 'em so long? He never seemed happy with the captain's plans. You don't suppose it was that place in the sky a few islands back?" The Krieg Pirates had heard tell of sky islands, but it was't until the ocean mysteriously lifted them to one that they finally believed them to be real.

"The sky island?" Pearl tapped a plate to his chin in thought. "He never did seem to like the way we treated those winged people, said it wasn't right. I think that's when he started getting soft on us. Peh, what kinda pirate crew did he think we were? Eh, Claudio?"

"Oh boys, all this talk of Gin! You do know that he's back on the island, hm? Sabrina spotted him while scouting." Claudio and Pearl both turned to see Valdivina smiling at them. She hadn't even made a sound as she approached, but given the nature of what she could turn into, the two men were hardly surprised.

"Gin's back?" Pearl perked up, looking anxious. "Hahaha, good! Does the Captain Krieg want us to go and take him down?"

Valdivina shook her head swiftly, her long red hair bouncing as a coy smile rested on her freckled face. "No, sorry. He already spoke to the Iron Jaw, who was more than happy to take up the challenge of putting Gin to rest. According to Sabrina, he's holed up in a giant marshmallow at the moment... of all places!"

Claudio put his palm to his face and did his best not to laugh. "A giant marshmallow? Oh Gin, what kinda hiding place is that supposed to be?"

Stepping forward, Valdivina pushed the two men out of the way and motioned towards the old man. "If you boys will excuse me, the captain sent me to make an example of this one."

Pearl's eyes widened with surprise. "W-What? But with your powers..."

Valdivina shot Pearl an agitated glance over her shoulder. "The captain didn't say anything about keeping him alive. If you feel that he shouldn't die, run along like a good little first mate and voice your concerns before I do what I was told by the captain."

Pearl glared back at Valdivina, the tension between them was all too obvious to Claudio. While Valdivina was certainly stronger than Pearl, he was first mate on the basis of being in Don Krieg's crew the longest. She was obviously gunning for his position, a thought that almost terrified Claudio. Pearl was sleazy, but he was friendly to everyone in Don Krieg's expanding fleet. Valdivina on the other hand...

As Pearl turned and stormed off, presumably to go and speak with Krieg, Claudio turned his attention to the nearby shackled inhabitants of Spicetown. He took a deep breath, exhaled quietly, and then spoke up for all of them to hear. "Okay, spice people! Turn your gaze over here to glimpse what happens when you're not working on schedule! Your town elder here is going to be made an example of. I hope that it brings much motivation to all of you... or else any one of you could be up here next." He looked towards Valdivina slightly, lowering his voice so that only she would hear. "Don't kill him, you know that keeping him alive and in a bad state will keep them working harder than if he's dead. If you get too carried away, I'll stop you."

Valdivina scowled back at Claudio. She knew that he was fully capable of stopping her without laying even a single finger on her even if she would be able to tear him to shreds. That invasive ability of his made her uncomfortable, and she was always wary of him since he used it on her one time. Without answering Claudio, she turned back to the old elder of Spicetown and grinned fiendishly. He watched on nervously, unsure of what was going to happen, until Valdivina's body began to change before his eyes. Her frame grew and became more animalistic, fur sprouting all over her body that was coloured black, orange and white. The old elder's jaw dropped, barely even able to utter the few words that escaped him. "A-A Zoan user!"

Indeed, Valdivina had revealed her ability. Having eaten the Tora Tora no Mi fruit, she was able to transform into a tiger. The began to shake nervously against the ropes that bound him, hastily muttering quiet prayers as Valdivina playfully swiped at his bare chest, causing fresh blood to trickle. A cry of pain escaped the elder, and Claudio watched on carefully. Valdivina did not relent as she scratched him again and again, causing cry after cry from the man. Still, she was keeping the punishment within reason... until she violently locked her fangs into his shoulder and bit down hard, prompting Claudio's eyes to widen. She was biting dangerously close to the man's heart, and she was on the verge of causing far too much blood loss! Without hesitation, he criss-crossed his fingers and pointed them at Valdivina. "Shoji Shoji no Domination!"

Claudio's body dropped to the ground as his consciousness, a bright blue orb, darted into Valdivina's body. She let out an animalistic growl as she staggered and wavered slightly before straightening up, no longer in control. Claudio looked down at his large tiger-like claws and nodded in approval. "These are pretty nice! However..." He shifted Valdivina's body back into its human form. He turned and walked back to his body, grabbing hold of it and then looking over the enslaved workers of Spicetown who had watched in horror at what Valdivina had done. Claudio plastered a smile on Valdivina's face and waved to them all. "He's alive - for now. Get back to work, everyone! The harder you work, the higher his chances of staying alive are!'

And, with that, he began dragging his body away, not intending on returning to it until he had Valdivina well clear of the restrained elder. He rolled Valdivina's eyes and grumbled to himself. "Seriously woman, you get the slightest scent of blood and you lose control!"

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_**


	6. Sudden Enemy, Caught Within Caramel Web

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 06:** **Sudden Enemy, Caught Within Caramel Web**

"YAHOOOOO!"

The Straw Hat crew watched as Luffy sped ahead on his syrup snail, the shelled creature propelling itself by working its syrup glands overtime. The crew had only rented the snails a moment ago, but Luffy was already nearly out of Candytown and nearing the road headed towards Marshmallow Marsh. Nami and Zoro could only facepalm as Chopper began to panic. "L-Luffy! Wait for us!"

"That idiot, I swear..." Sanji gritted his teeth as he climbed about his saddled syrup snail, looking it over curiously. "Oi, how do I make this thing go?" As he did this, a series of female hands rose up from below and offered him the reins. Immediately, Sanji was overcome with joyous lust. "Robin-chaaan! Always looking out for me!"

Robin merely smiled back sweetly before looking on ahead. "Perhaps we should follow Luffy before he gets too far ahead?"

The stable master waved to the crew as they began to disembark. "Safe travels, friends! Enjoy the syrup snails, but don't forget to stay away from..."

His voice had trailed off as the snails busily made their way up the road, ascending up the cocoa-coloured dirt trail, prompting Usopp to look around nervously. "Did he tell us to avoid something!?"

"Nah!" Franky grinned as he lowered his shades. "He told us to have a SUUUPER trip!"

"Still..." Usopp glanced back, almost worryingly, before watching the road ahead once more. Had he misheard the stable master?

* * *

"Oooooh! I can see everything from up here!" Luffy pointed over the edge of the cocoa-coloured mountain trail. "There's that lollipop forest! So cool!"

Zoro's snail oozed over as he looked down and groaned. "Making everything out of candy... what weird people."

"Ohohoho! A conundrum!" Everyone turned to see Brook's syrup snail oozing toward a fork in the road, with the left road descending back down towards ground level while the other continued to rise. "Which route do we take?"

Nami oozed her snail over as she glanced back and forth between the two, stroking her chin in thought. "Hmm... were we told which route to take? If we're destined for Marshmallow Marsh, then it is probably below us near sea-level." Her eyes danced back and forth between pointing towards the left trail. "That trail should be the way."

"Oi."

Everyone turned to look at Sanji as he looked around idly. "Where's the idiot swordsman?"

Chopper raised both of his little hooves to his face in shock and disbelief. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HE'S LOST ALREADY!?"

All Luffy could do was laugh at the sight of Zoro being absent. "Hahahaha! It's okay, Zoro's strong! He'll be okay by himself, and we'll find him later! C'mon, let's start going down Nami's trail!" Everyone sighed at Zoro being lost but, as Luffy began to descend down the trail that Nami had selected, everyone quickly followed in pursuit before he could get too far ahead.

* * *

Five minutes later, Zoro's syrup snail oozed into the same location that the rest of the crew had been at. "Damn it, how far ahead did they get while I stopped to piss!?" Zoro growled to himself as he looked ahead, staring at the two trails ahead of him. "Did everyone go left or right?"

Zoro simply stared blankly at both forks for a moment before, finally, he tugged on his snail's reins and led it up the trail that led higher up the mountain.

* * *

"Nami." Luffy looked around curiously. "Is this really the right path?"

The route that the crew had taken had grown significantly darker and, while they were now near ground-level, they weren't in any kind of marsh. Instead, they seemed to be in a dark, dim forest. Nami shook her head as she looked around worryingly. "It has to be. There wouldn't be a marsh high up on a mountain, Luffy. Maybe it's just after this forest?"

"Eh?" Franky halted his snail as he peered off towards a large, brown spider web hanging from nearby trees. There was something odd about the web, ad Franky couldn't help himself. As the crew watched him approach the web, he reached up and tore a chunk off and stuck it in his mouth.

"AHHH! FRANKY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Chopper couldn't help but panic at the sight of Franky stuffing brown spider web into his mouth but, after swallowing, Franky merely turned and grinned, prompting Chopper to settle down, but remain confused. "W-Why are you smiling? Franky!?"

"Relax!" Franky thumbed to the web. "I could tell by looking at it what it was. It's caramel."

All Straw Hats suddenly chimed in simultaneously ."Caramel!?" Confusion was etched upon all of their faces as they tried to comprehend why there was a spider web made of caramel in the forest. Finally, Usopp piped up. "It's... probably just another candy decoration from the villagers? ... right?"

... and then there was a loud hiss. Everyone frantically looked around, trying to determine what the noise was. Robin narrowed her eyes slightly. "I don't think the web is a decoration, Usopp."

And then, it appeared. Dropping from the trees was a large brown spider, covered in what looked like hot, steaming caramel that also seemed to be dripping from its spinneret. Luffy and Franky immediately responded with excitement, admiring the spider as the rest of the crew expressed either apprehension or fear. Suddenly, Usopp let out a blood-curdling scream that he had been trying to restrain, which attracted the attention of the spider. Without any warning, it whipped a string of caramel at Usopp, immediately coating him and pulling him back to the spider. All the while, Usopp screamed as loud as possible. "H-HELP! LUFFY! FRANKY! SANJI! IT'S GOT ME!"

As soon as the spider revealed itself to be a threatening presence, Luffy grinned to himself. "Yosh, I'm gonna make you pay for that, big spider! Gomu gomu no pistol!" Luffy's arm shot straight at the spider and, upon connecting, merely stuck to its sticky caramel-covered body. Luffy's eyes widened in anger and confusion. "H-Hey! Let go of me! Damn spider!"

"Luffy, hold still!" Sanji ran forward, straight for Luffy's arm, and leaped at it, delivering a swift kick to the area that Luffy's arm was stuck to. "Mouton shot!"

With that, both Luffy and Sanji were stuck to the spider as Sanji dangled awkwardly from his stuck leg. He growled angrily, his cigarette falling from his mouth and dropping to the ground. "Shit!"

As Luffy and Sanji both struggled to free themselves from the surprisingly sticky caramel that covered the spider, another two shots of caramel from the spinneret wrapped around both Brook and Robin and quickly dragged them away, Robin crying out in surprise and Brook yohohoing until he was no longer in sight.

"Robin!" Nami swiftly he Clima-Tact and she swung it towards the spider. "Thunderbolt Tempo!"

The spider was immediately jolted by the attack, the caramel on its body immediately burning, hardening, and then cracking. Franky swiftly raised his hand and began firing around where Luffy and Sanji were restrained. "Weapons Left!"

The caramel cracked and began to break, prompting Luffy and Sanji to both drop from the spider. Luffy turned his gaze towards the spider and glared at it. "Okay, now you're gonna get it! Gomu gomu no bazooka!"

As both of Luffy's arms collided with the spider, it was swiftly sent flying backwards, rolling several times before it jumped up and then skittered away into the treetops. Luffy began to give chase before Sanji grabbed his shoulder. "Wait, Luffy. It's moves too fast and we can't even see where it's going."

Surrounded by Chopper, Franky, Nami and Sanji, Luffy breathlessly huffed as he glared off into the distance. "Brook! Robin! Usopp! I'm gonna kick that spider's ass and rescue you!"

* * *

Zoro pulled on his reins to stop his snail as he glanced at the sign ahead. "Marshmallow Marsh? A marsh on a mountaintop? What the hell is up with this island?" With a sigh, he resumed pressing forward with his snail. "Whatever, everyone's gotta be up ahead somewhere."

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	7. Enter Sabrina, Behold the Ana Ana no Mi

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 07:** **Enter Sabrina, Behold the Ana Ana no Mi!**

Cafe owner Beek carefully poured two cups of tea, the round man's marshmallow costume wobbling slightly as he huffed and buffed to carefully fill each cup as much as possible. Gin and Conis watched from a nearby table as the portly man picked up the tray and brought it to the table that the two sat at, carefully setting it down as he breathed heavily. As he started to open his mouth, Gin and Conis braced themselves. They had learned quickly that Beek wasn't the greatest at controlling the volume of his voice when they wandered in looking for refuge. "THERE YOU GO, TWO CUPS OF TEA ON THE HOUSE! AS LONG AS MISS PRETTY LADY PLAYS MUSIC, I WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE TEA YOU WANT!" He paused and smiled goofily at Conis. "SUCH BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, MISS PRETTY LADY."

Conis blushed slightly, though Beek was mildly off-putting. "T-Thank you, Mister Beek... er, for the compliment and for the tea! You have been too kind to us."

"OH, MISS PRETTY LADY! IT IS MY DUTY TO BE KIND TO ALL WHO VISIT MY HUMBLE MARSHMALLOW CAFE!" Beek's marshmallow costume jiggled wildly as he flailed his arms around dramatically. "YOU WILL FIND NO BETTER CUP OF TEA ANYWHERE ON BON-BON ISLAND! THAT IS MY PROMISE TO MISS PRETTY LADY AND SNAKE-SHIRT!"

Snake-Shirt. Gin grinned slightly at the nickname he had been given. Despite the fact that he and Conis had provided Beek with their actual names, he seemed unable to remember them and simply blurted out made-up names based on their physical appearances. Gin raised a cup and nodded towards Beek. "Thank you."

As Beek waddled back towards his counter, Conis looked around the empty cafe curiously. "It is so empty here, Gin! Where is everyone? Ever since we reached Marshmallow Marsh, I've only seen a few people..."

"There is an easy to that." Gin took a sip of off-white tea, pausing to take in the curious marshmallow flavour of the tea before continuing. "Word of Don Krieg has pushed people further and further east. The towns on the east coast, such as Candytown, are where most of the island's inhabitants likely are."

"And..." Conis bit her lip before nervously asking what was on her mind. "... what about us? What are we going to do?"

Lowering his cup to the table, Gin looked at Conis rather seriously, his voice stern. "I will put a stop to Don Krieg myself, once and for all. I can't have you there when I do, Conis. It is... too dangerous for you, I cannot say why. Just remember, I am doing this to protect you and keep you safe. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Conis merely smiled in response, offering a small nod. "Mmm! I'm grateful that you are looking out for me, but where will I stay?"

Before Gin could answer, a familiar figure entered the cafe through the front door. He narrowed his eyes and spoke quietly. "Conis. Hide behind the counter. Beek will make sure that you are unseen."

Conis was unsure of what was happening and decided not to follow Gin's gaze, instead opting to slide out of her chair quietly and dart to the counter where she looked up at Beek with big eyes. "Mister Beek, I need to hide."

"OH, YOU NEED TO HIDE? OF COURSE, MISS PRETTY LADY. YOU CAN HIDE UNDER MY COUNTER!" Beek's loud and obnoxious voice forced Gin to grit his teeth as he looked to the front door. The visitor had obviously heard Beek's booming voice as well as she locked her eyes onto the fat cafe owner and Conis.

"Oh, what is that?" The visitor grinned, her expression sly like a snake. She was a pale woman with long purple hair who wore a matching jet black trenchoat over spandex of the same colour. Though it was obvious that she was staring at Beek and Conis, her eyes were covered by rather fashionable black sunglasses. She began to stroll towards the counter, her grin growing rather mischievous. "Sweet girl... you're from a sky island, aren't you? Oh, Captain Krieg is going to be delighted!"

As the woman grew close to the counter, Conis hugged herself tightly before screaming out in fear. "Get away from me!" When she was mere steps away, she raised a hand towards Conis and cackled. "You'll be getting away from here - but not from me!"

Just then, a metal rod collided with the woman's jaw, sending her reeling back several feet and knocking her sunglasses off of her face as she staggered for a moment before finally standing in place. She glared ahead, her eyes locking onto her attacker, causing her to grit her teeth and narrow her eyes. "Gin!"

Gin carefully rested his rod against his shoulder as he grinned. "Long time no see, Sabrina. I didn't expect Krieg to send any of you this far inland!"

"Idiot traitor, that's because I was scouting and found you and that beautiful little winged girl. She'll be coming with me, I'm afraid." She criss-crossed her arms and smugly stared Gin down. "You cannot hope to match the power of my Ana Ana no Mi powers."

"ANA ANA NO MI? Beek titled his head curiously. "THE PURPLE LADY IS A DEVIL FRUIT USER, MISS PRETTY LADY!"

"Yes, I am." Sabrina looked at Beek and Conis smugly as she ran a slender hand through her purple hair. "I ate the Ana Ana no Mi fruit. I am able to create holes of any size in space, and with that power..." Sabina swiftly pointed at Beek, and he promptly fell into the floor. Conis panicked, looking down and seeing a jet black hole that was not there previously. She yelped loudly before jumped up onto the counter. Sabrina simply laughed and shook her head. "You are not safe on a counter, my dear. In fact, you are not safe anywhere!"

As Sabrina began to point her other finger at Conis, Gin launched another attack. Sabrina meerely grinned as she drew a hole in front of her, which Gin ran right into and came out behind her, stumbling and barely running into the wall before he cursed under his breath and shot around as Conis screamed. His eyes widened as he saw one of Sabrina's holes drop onto her, and then she was gone. Gin was aghast at the sight of losing Conis, causing him to fly into a rage as he charged Sabrina. "How could you do that to her? Bring her back immediately! I swore to never let Do Krieg lay a finger on her!"

Just as Gin swung his rod at Sabrina, his attack was blocked by three blades. He was briefly in shock for a moment, unable to comprehend what just happened, but then he saw. Gin looked past the blades that held his rod in place, eyes widening as far as they would allow. "R-Roronoa Zoro!?"

"Still picking on innocent people? Eh!?" Zoro narrowed his eyes as he pushed Gin back with his swords, causing him to stumble several feet back.

"T-That man was trying to rob me!" Sabrina cried out, doing a surprisingly good job of portraying the damsel in distress. "Please take care of him, mister swordsman!"

As Zoro began to take a stance in preparation for charging forward, Gin held up his hand. "Roronoa, wait! That woman' with the Krieg Pirates! She abducted my friend!"

Zoro merely narrowed his eyes. "Like I care?"

"She knows you, Roronoa!" Gin took a step forward, hand outstretched as he pleaded with Zoro. "Her name is Conis! From Skypiea!"

"What?" Zoro's eyes widened before he quickly snapped around to look at Sabrina... but she was nowhere to be found. All that remained was a hole in the ground that was all but closed...

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	8. Conis' Fate and the Caramel Catacombs

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 08: Conis' Fate and the Caramel Catacombs**

Pearl walked along the beach, looking between the Spicetown workers with disdain as they worked tirelessly to assemble ship parts for the Krieg pirates. It would soon be time for them to assemble the newest vessel to join Don Krieg's fleet and, then, they could move onto the next island to repeat the process all over again. Something unusual then caught Pearl's attention, causing his eyes to drift towards an exhausted man who was trying to drink the salt water that splashed against the shore. To drink salt water reeked of desperation - desperation that disgusted Pearl. He quickly marched over and looked down at the man with a smug glare. "What do you think you are doing? Your job is to sand planks, not refresh yourself!"

"P-Please, I'm so tired!" The man looked up at Pearl with pleading eyes. He was clearly extremely exhausted, but all Pearl did was curl his lip at the man before raising a foot and promptly stomping on him, pinning him to the ground.

"You dare to make demands? Eh!?" He pushed hard on the man's back, causing him to cry out as he laid in the sand. Nearby workers kept working tirelessly, fearing what may happen if they were to stop, but their attention was fully directed towards the scene before them. Pearl growled as he started stomping on the man repeatedly. "You will get water if and when we decide to allow it, you miserable cretin!"

"Please! S-Stop!" The man tried his best to curl into the fetal position, but it was no use. Pearl's anger only grew at the sight of the man, which caused him to stop stomping and rear his arms back for an attack.

"Dameoshi Pearl Present!" Both shield-laden arms slammed into the man's back as hard as Pearl could manage. The man breathlessly let out a horrid gasp of pain as blood projectiled from his mouth. After Pearl composed himself, he sneered at the man as he laid still on the ground. It was evident to all of the onlookers that the man was not going to be moving again - ever. Pearl's eyes raised as he glanced around to look at all of the workers before letting out a loud shout, his voice full of arrogance and hate. "That's what happens when you defy the Krieg Pirates! You'll get whatever we want to give you, and you'll get it when we feel like giving it to you! If you don't comply, well..."

"Pearl!"

Turning his attention away from the Spicetown workers on the shore, Pearl spotted Claudio just past where the sand met the grass. "What do you want? Eh?"

Claudio motioned back towards Spicetown, where the Kreig Pirates had set up shop. "Sabrina's back, you gotta see what she found!"

* * *

Within the Spicetown jailhouse, the Krieg Pirates stood gathered around the holding cell they had thrown Conis into as they looked her over excitedly. Claudio, Pearl and Valdivina stood near Sabrina, who looked quite content and full of herself after bringing Conis in. Beside them was the rest of the Krieg Pirates: Bonne Blight, Juzo and former Marine Captain "Axe-Hand' Morgan.

Bonne Blight was the newest recruit of the Krieg Pirates. A scheming mad doctor, he was a warped looking man with stringy black hair who always wore stained scrubs and an air filtration device over his mouth, the latter which he claimed would keep him free of taint. As a mad doctor, he was more less focused on healing people and more interested in creating bacteria and poisons to harm instead. With Don Krieg's past underhanded nature involving poison gases, Bonne Blight was a perfect fit into the crew.

Juzo was an enormous man, standing nearly ten feet tall and resembling a professional wrestler with his bulky physique and white spandex pants with black bear paw prints. Head always shaved, he wore a permanent grin on his face.

Morgan, a former Marine Captain, had been stripped of his rank after abusing his powers and was deemed a criminal. After fleeing from the ship that had been transporting him to his imprisonment, Morgan wandered the seas until he crossed paths with Don Krieg. Morgan was enticed by the man's disposition towards him, as it was refreshing to finally be viewed as a human being again rather than a fugitive. Wishing to see the Grand Line in its entirety, Krieg then appealed to Morgan's darker impulses by mentioning his method of expanding his fleet via slave labour. Morgan wasn't long agreeing to side with the Krieg Pirates, at least to further his own means and guarantee his own safety for the foreseeable future.

"What a fascinating specimen." Bonne Blight tilted his head as he regarded Conis curiously. "I wonder how resilient she is to poison? Perhaps Captain Krieg will allow me to use her after he is finished with her?"

Juzo grimaced at Bonne Blight's words, though his grin mysteriously remained fully intact. "You are a strange one, Blight! Is what the Captain will do to her not enough of a punishment?"

Claudio and Morgan, choosing to simply observe rather than spout nonsense to one another, simply gave each other curious looks before diverting their gazes back to Conis.

"Hey, Pearl." Sabrina glanced sideways to Pearl with a sly grin. "Captain Krieg is gonna love this, you know. You've just been coasting as first mate lately, doing... what, exactly? I'd be watching your back if I were you."

Pearl glared towards her before spitting back. "Peh, Don Krieg values loyalty over all else."

"What I value most..." Everyone turned to see the silhouette of their captain in the door, now adorning a cape that shrouded in darkness. He raised a hand and ran his fingers down something that appeared to be covering the cape's material. "... are good omens."

Don Krieg walked into view, staring towards the cell with a devilish smirk. As his cape came into view, Conis' eyes widened in horror as she placed her shackled hands over her mouth. "W-What!?"

All that followed Conis' shock was a villainous laugh from Don Krieg that echoed throughout the jailhouse.

* * *

"Ungh... where... ?" Robin's eyes opened slowly as she looked around curiously, barely able to see anything in the darkness surrounding her. She tried to move, but found that the caramel on her body had hardened like a rock.

"O-Ow..." Usopp had also awakened, his head throbbing as he blinked to adjust his vision to the darkness. After a few seconds, he screamed out in shock. "Aaaaahhhh! We're surrounded!"

"Surrounded?" Robin looked around more, her eyes adjusting as well and allowing her to spot the dozens of caramel sacs hanging from the ceiling of the cave they were in. Her eyes widened slightly. "Those are..."

"PEOPLE!" Usopp shook uncontrollably from his upside-down position. "WE'RE GONNA BE ENTOMBED AND EATEN!"

As Usopp panicked, Robin narrowed her eyes and looked all over as best she could, but she couldn't figure out a way to escape from her the caramel carapace that had formed so tightly around her body.

"Yohohoho! It is so dark in here that I cannot see! ... but I don't even have any eyes."

Robin and Usopp turned their gaze towards Brook, their eyes wide with surprise as he was standing idly in the center of the room.

"H-Huh? Oi, Brook!" Usopp shook back and forth as best he could, trying to get Brook's attention. "How'd you get out!?"

"Get out?" Brook turned and looked up at the two and, for a moment, there was silence until Brook finally piped up. "Oh yes! I'm a skeleton, so I slid out of the caramel! It was easy, yohohoho!"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED T'DO THAT!?" Usopp began to wobble wildly as he grew frightened and upset, leaving Robin to simply dangle quietly as she looked towards the casing that once housed Brook and then back to the skeleton himself. She blinked a few times before it dawned on her.

"Brook, do you have your sword?"

"Hm?" Brook checked his sides before finding his blade and holding it up. "I do! Is there something that you would like me to do? What shall I do with it?"

Robin nodded towards Usopp. "Cut Usopp and I free, Brook. Your sword should be able to cut this caramel."

Brook responded with a hearty dose of yohohoing because he leaped up and sliced at Usopp's carapce. Usopp, predictably, responded by screaming like a maniac until a large hole appeared in the caramel and dropped him to the ground, silencing his screaming as he fell flat on his face before toppling over into the dirt. Robin nodded in approval as Brook then moved to slice her carapace. Naturally, she was more graceful in her drop and managed to spin herself and land on her feet. She turned her gaze to Brook and offered him a warm smile. "Thank you, Brook."

"Anything for you, Robin. We must depart from this horrid place at once, but... first, may I see your panties?"

As Usopp's legs twitched ever so slightly, Robin simply shook her head. "Not at this time, Brook. The fall may have knocked Usopp unconscious, can you carry him?"

"Yohohoho, I can do so! I am always happy to assist!" Brook hopped over to where Usopp laid upside down, face stuck to the floor, before Brook lifted him and threw him over his shoulder. "Onward then!"

Robin gave a firm nod as she began to lead the way, the trio exiting the chamber of hanging caparace sacs and entering a long, winding tunnel. Robin looked at the bits of caramel all over the walls in thought as she walked. "How deep into this cave did that spider take us?"

Just as Brook started to answer, there was a strange scurrying sound that prompted both to stand completely still and listen. It quietly grew closer and louder as Brook and Robin looked back and forth between one another, knowing quite well that something was coming their way. As the sound grew louder still, Brook quietly drew his blade once more and Robin took a stance in preparation for her to use her Hana Hana no Mi powers.

Just as they readied themselves, the source of the scurrying appeared and caused both to take a step back in shock. Flooding into the tunnel before them were not dozens of large spider hatchlings, but hundreds.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	9. Sinkhole Jungle, Watch Your Step

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 09: Sinkhole Jungle, Watch Your Step!**

"Shit! Where did that spider go!?" Sanji growled angrily as he carefully stepped around the various puddles on the floor of the jungle that he, Chopper, Franky, Luffy and Nami had somehow found themselves in. There had still been no sign of Marshmallow Marsh in sight.

"When I find it, I'm gonna kick it's ass!" Luffy stormed along with little regard and, as a result, his feet were half getting sucked into the ground with every step on the wet ground. "And then after I beat up that spider, we're gonna find Brook, Robin and Uso-"

 ** _CRASH!_**

Everyone paused suddenly as a sinkhole opened up in front of the group, which immediately caused a loose tree to fall down and crash its way down the hole. Franky carefully inched towards the hole and lifted his shades as he peered down. "Huh! This hole's deep. I don't even see the tree."

Nami bit her lip, looking around nervously. "Come to think of it, I did see some holes elsewhere in the jungle so far. Is... this something that happens often in this jungle?" Her voice was laced with concern, prompting Sanji to leap over excitedly.

"DON'T WORRY, NAAAAMI-SAAAAN! I WILL BE YOUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR AND PROTECT YOOOOU!"

Nami instead just sighed as she glanced towards Chopper, Franky and Luffy. "This jungle may not be very safe, so you three idiots be careful! Especially you, Luffy!"

Chopper smiled back to Nami before he started tip-toeing around. "I'll be okay, Nami! I'm really light and can jus- UWAAAAH!" A miniature sinkhole promptly opened only a few steps behind Chopper, prompting him to freak out mid-sentence. Luffy, instinctively, shot an arm towards Chopper, grabbing him and pulling him out of harm's way. Chopper could only pant in shock after being put down. "T-That was scary! I don't wanna be in this jungle anymore!"

Nami thumbed forward, pointing towards the dry spots that they had been trying to walk on up until then. "It'll be fine as we're careful, just don't step in the puddles of on the wet ground!"

The group vowed to be more careful and continued on and, other than for the occasional stunt performed by Luffy, they were relatively worry-free for several minutes until they reached a sign that had been stuck into the ground. Sanji curiously inched towards the sign, reading it out loud. "Warning, risk of sinkholes increases dramatically past this point."

"W-WHAT!? I DON'T WANNA GO, LET'S TURN BACK!" Chopper immediately freaked out and desperately grabbed hold of Luffy's leg, prompting Luffy to simply laugh heartily at Chopper's fear.

"C'mon, Chopper!" Luffy grinned down to Chopper. "It'll be easy, watch!"

As Chopper detached himself from Luffy's leg, the group watched as he took a few needlessly-slow steps before looking ahead curiously. All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in his head as he grabbed onto a tree for support. "Ah! I got it! Gomu gomu no rocket!"

"LUFFY!" Nami reached out in shock as Luffy went flying ahead. However, she calmed herself once Luffy appeared to land without incident nearly a hundred feet ahead. Everyone watched as Luffy stood firmly on the wet, mossy ground and started waving his arms and shouting to them.

"WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THOSE MYSTERY HOLES ANYMORE IF I JU- WHOOOOA!" Luffy staggered for a moment before, without warning, the ground gave way beneath him. Everyone gasped in surprise as they immediately ran full speed ahead, dodging any potentially dangerous spots on the ground. Franky was the first to arrive at the hole, glancing down and spotting Luffy's hands clenched onto rocks in the hole's wall, hanging on for dear life as he tried to stop himself from being torn away by an underground river that laid underneath the sinkhole. "F-Franky! Help!"

"Yosh! I'll get you outta there, Luffy!" Franky then promptly dove into the hole, splashing beside Luffy. His torso emerged from the water, smirking at Luffy as he reached for him, but then the nature of the river's pull took in and Franky was swiftly ripped away. "I'M TOO HEEEEAAAAVVVVYYYYYY!"

"Shit, that idiot!" Sanji removed his cigarette and looked to Nami. "I don't know where Franky's going, but I can rescue Luffy. I don't weight a ton."

Nami, understandably, still looked concerned. "Sanji, be careful!"

Just as Sanji prepared to dive, the ground he stood on gave way, increasing the size of the sink hole and causing him to plummet into the hole, landing directly on Luffy. "S-SANJI! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!?"

Luffy lost his grip on the rocks as a result of being fallen on, and he and Sanji were both swiftly pulled away. Standing at the top of the sinkhole, Chopper stared down in shock as Nami suddenly erupted. "YOU IDIOTS! I SAID BE CAREFUL!"

* * *

Not far off the coast of Bon-Bon Island, a Marine vessel slowly inched towards the island. The ship gently swayed as it slowly broke wave after wave. Within the ship's cabin, these movements caused a cigarette tray on the table to slide ever so slightly and, as a result, a cigarette to be accidentally put out on the table itself. Through gritted teeth, the lone occupant sitting within the cabin groaned to herself as she smushed the cigarette into the tray. "Hina annoying."

"Major Hina!" The door cabin door flung open and a marine officer poked his head in, promptly saluting his superior officer. "The island that the pirate fleet is said to be at is in sight, but... er..." The officer looked apprehensive, almost nervous.

Hina stared back at him rather flatly, her cold expression piercing him much like a spear. "Tell me."

"U-Uh... we spotted something docked at the coast. It's a pirate ship."

Hina quirked an eyebrow as she continued to stare coldly. "That is not of the fleet we are following?"

"N-No, Major Hina! It's the ship belonging to the Straw Hat Pirates!"

Hina's eyes almost widened but, instead, an eyebrow merely twitched as she stood up and stepped outside of the cabin, ghosting the officer who had delivered the news to her. As other officers ran around the deck of the ship performing their duties, Hina merely glanced off into the distance at the island, staring at the lollipop forest and gingerbread town for a moment before her eyes focused on the pirate ship that was docked at the shore. What the officer told her proved to be correct.

Hina had been tasked with tracking down whatever pirate crew it was that had been amassing a fleet and stopping them from continuing their expansion, and now she had found the island that there were anchored at... but this was quite the surprise to see the Straw Hat Pirates' ship as well. As she realized that she could possibly kill two birds with one stone, a slighty smile appeared on her face for a mere second before she donned a more serious expression once more. She reached into her coat to withdraw a cigarette, sticking it in her mouth and lighting it as she stared on ahead.

"Hina excited."

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	10. Franky's Arrival, Roping In An Old Ally

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Franky's Arrival, Roping In An Old Ally**

Within a quiet game shop in Marshmallow Marsh, a portly little man smiled to his paying customer as he revealed the presence of a ball on his table before covering it with a cup and then placing two empty cups alongside it. The three cups then began to dance about as they moved back and forth, changing positions faster than one could ever hope to follow. They moved, moved, and moved with no end in sight. Finally, the portly man who had been switching their positions so rapidly lifted his hands and grinned to the denim-clad man who stood across from him. "All right, that's it! Can you guess which one the ball is under?"

Eyes scanned across the table, moving from one cup to another slowly. All the denim-clad man could think of was how far he had sunk, as this truly was rock bottom. No casino was willing to accept him anymore, not after the debt that he had accummulated. He had been forced to resort to the most basic forms of gambling he could find to try and get back any of his losses. He groaned to himself in frustration, his cigar bobbing slowly as he thought. Finally, after much deliberation, he reached out and placed his hand on top of the middle cup.

"Are ya sure?" The portly man grinned at him. The denim-clad man paused, hand started to loosen as he reconsidered. He apprehensively looked at the other two cups before shaking his head swiftly. No, he had to pick the middle one! No matter which one he decided to lift, the portly man was going to toy with him based on his decision. He tightly gripped the cup, anxiety setting in as he felt the sweat start to trickle down his forehead, and then he lifted the cup to find... nothing.

"W-WHAT? DAMN IT! I WAS SO SURE!" Paulie dropped to both knees, hands outstretched as if pleading with an unseen entity. "WHY COULDN'T I JUST WIN THIS ONE TIME!?"

The portly man watched with an amused expression plastered on his face. "It can be a difficult game at times, huh? Care to try again?"

Paulie immediately shot to his feet and slammed a bill on the table, sliding it across to him. "You're damn right I'm gonna try again! I gotta win!"

Everything hinged on this for Paulie. He was about to be completely out of money if he did not win this tme. After being chased out of Water 7 for owing an insurmountable amount of money to a local casino, Paulie had been bouncing from island to island trying to win back his losses in any way possible. Now on Bon-Bon Island, he was dismayed to find no casinos. Games of chance were even a rarity but, fortunately, he was able to find the portly man's ball and cup game in the middle of a town known as Marshmallow Marsh.

Paulie's eyes watched the man's movements carefully as he revealed the initial location of the ball before immediately covering it with a cup and then promptly moving the three cups around rapidly. His confidence immediately dropped off when, after only a few seconds, he had immediately lost track of where the ball was. His anxiety began to mount yet again, his clenched fists becoming excessively clammy. "S-Shit..."

Just then, there was a horrible racket that sounded like a boulder banging around in a metal pipe. The portly man lifted his gaze towards the wall behind him, quirking an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Paulie spotted the man's distraction immediately and swiftly lifted each cup in a mad hurry, immediately finding that the ball wasn't even under any of the cups. It was a trick! The portly man's curious gaze left the wall as he looked back to Paulie, his grin returning. "Well! Are you ready to guess?"

The banging noise returned again, this time much louder, as Paulie suddenly snapped. "WHAT'RE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU BASTARD? YOU RIGGED THIS GA-"

 _"Coup De Vent!"_

 _ **BOOM!**_

The wall exploded, and water came flooding into the room, the portly man freaking as he immediately bolted for the door as water rushed into the shop. Paulie's eyes widened as he swiftly threw rope at the ceiling rafters and hoisted himself up, staring at the sudden blast of water in shock.

"H-How did the water main break? Oh dear!" The portly man struggled with the knob for a moment until, at last, he had it open and fled from the store. Paulie watched him leave before turning his attention back to the hole in the wall where water gushed in. His eyes then widened further when...

A hulking figure stepped out from the streaming crevice, one that Paulie recognized and caused him to stare in disbelief. "Ah, never thought I'd make it out of there! So that was a water source under the jungle, eh?" Franky lifted his shades and glanced around, completely oblivious to the destruction that he had just caused. "... but where the hell am I?"

"FRANKY?"

"Huh?" Franky lazily turned to look over his shoulder, spotting Paulie hanging from the rafters above. Immediately, he grinned. "Oh, hey there! Rope guy! Porkie, right?"

Paulie's rage immdiately bubbled over. "IT'S PAULIE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

Franky just stared back, almost looking confused as he replied flatly. "Couldn't I ask you the same question?"

"None of your damn business! What're you doing breaking in here like that? H-Hey, listen to me!" Paulie was growing frustrated over Franky barely paying attention to him, as he was now busily inserted a few bottles of cola into his stomach. Where they had even come from, Paulie didn't care to ask. "Hey, Franky! I'm talking to you here! What're yo-"

"Coup De Vent!"

 _ **BOOM!**_

Another huge blast, this time from within the shop as Franky blasted the hole he had created, thus caving it in. The water immediately ceased pouring in as Franky let out an exhausted breath. "Whew, I shouldn't have done that twice! I'm all outta cola now, too."

"FRANKY!" Paulie was practically seething now.

"Eh?" Franky, again, lazily peered towards him. "What are you yelling for, Parker?"

"It's PAULIE!" Dropping from the rafters, Paulie walked towards Franky, staring up at him in annoyance. "What're you even doing here!?"

Franky looked around slowly, removing his shades and appearing mildly confused. "I'm here with my crew. I jumped into a sinkhole in the jungle and got brought here. Where the hell am I?"

"You don't even know where you are!?" Paulie groaned and facepalmed before pointing out the door. "This is Marshmallow Marsh! Don't you know anything about the damn island that you're on!?"

"Ah, Marshmallow Marsh!" Franky smiled enthusiastically as he stepped towards the door and peered out at the town. Marshmallow Marsh was elevated above the cocoa swamp below, which contained marshmallow boats that lazily drifted around the perimeter of the town. The buildings themselves, though wooden, were shaped and painted to look like marshmallows, as were the platforms that held that up. There were many rope bridges going between the platforms, and Franky quickly noticed that, instead of rope, the bridges were held in place with licorice. "Huh, these guys sure like their candy here."

"Straw Hat Luffy's crew is here?" Paulie scratched his chin in thought as his cigar bobbed up and down. "That must mean you guys are after something big, eh?"

"Yeah." Franky turned around to give Paulie his full attention. "There's a pirate crew led by one of Luffy's old enemies on the other side of the island that we're here to stop. You wanna make yourself useful?"

Pirates? Paulie grinned to himself, well aware that pirate crews often meant treasure... and treasure meant money! Would he be able to get his hands on some to pay off his debt? He cleared his throat and nodded to Franky. "Yeah! Let's go thrash some pirates!"

"Hold it!" Franky held up his hand to stop Paulie in his tracks as he started for the door. "We were on our way to this town originally. Some traitor from the pirate crew is supposed to be here somewhere."

"M-my shop! W-Why..." As the portly man who ran the shop came back all teary eyed.

Franky swiftly grabbed the man, holding him up and looking at him. "Oi, fat man, have you seen any weird looking pirates in town recently?"

The portly man just stared at Franky for a moment, blinking. "B-Besides you!? Uh... well, there was one in the cafe earlier with a girl!"

"Cafe, eh?" Franky set the man down and looked off towards town, immediately seeing a sign not far off that read Beek's Cafe. He grinned to himself as he took a step out of the shop, pleased that he had made it to the place they had been looking for all along. Was he the first one to arrive? "C'mon, Pocky."

As Franky started towards the cafe, Paulie once again snapped. "ITS PAULIE! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!?"

* * *

Zoro rubbed his forehead in frustration as he looked around the cafe slowly. Not a single trace left of the woman's presence.

"Roronoa."

He turned to face Gin, who stood behind the counter where Conis had been, desperately looking for any sort of residual hole that Sabrina had forgotten to close. "Conis... we have to rescue her."

"Yeah." Zoro nodded absently. "We met her in Skypiea. Luffy's gonna go on a rampage when he hears that she's been captured."

"No, Roronoa... we _have_ to rescue her!" Gin's voice was frighteningly authoritative and firm. "If we don't... Don Krieg will kill her."

Zoro's eyes widened slightly as Gin said the words, which is precisely when Franky and Paulie wandered into the cafe. Franky, oblivious to situation, was immediately overcome with confusion. "Ah, Zoro's here? I must be in the wrong place then."

Zoro swiftly turned and snapped at Franky. "I'M NOT LOST, IDIOT!" He huffed loudly before crossing his arms. "The guy beside me is the guy we were looking for, and things just got complicated."

* * *

Don Krieg's appearance at the Baratie, the history of Gin, Skypiea and Conis. Zoro had explained it all to Franky and Paulie, the latter of who Zoro seemed completely uninterested to see in Marshmallow Marsh. As Franky began to understand the level of which the Straw Hats appreciated Conis, and with how much the crew valued friendship having rubbed off on Franky, he merely sat with a grim expression on his face. "I don't know this Conis girl, but if she's anything like you described? Then we gotta save her."

Zoro simply nodded before looking towards Gin and Paulie, feeling a little surprised to even see the two in the same room together. "You two gonna help us kick some ass?"

Gin slammed his rod against the floor and nodded. "I promised to stop Don Krieg, and I'm gonna do just that."

Paulie gripped his rope and grinned to Zoro. "If it means that I might find some treasure, then I'll help ya with anything."

"Good." Franky half-smirked to himself as he put his shades back on. "Then we're gonna kick some ass."

"B-But..." Everyone turned to look at Gin. "You have to know the terrible reason why Conis is in danger. I have to tell you about that terrible day... the day that Airtopia, the sky island, fell."

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	11. Gin's Tale, Krieg's Arrival in Airtopia

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Gin's Tale, Krieg's Arrival in Airtopia**

"Airtopia?" Zoro stared in Gin in confusion.

"A sky island. Back when I was still a member of the Krieg Pirates, we... wound up on Airtopia accidentally." Gin paused and closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "It was on that day that I knew I was not able to follow Don Krieg any longer. Not after what had happened."

Franky, Paulie and Zoro listened closely as Gin then proceeded to tell them the story of the day the Krieg Pirates reached Airtopia - the very day that would be the last of its inhabitants.

* * *

"The sea is calm today." Gin looked out over the waters that stretched as far as the eye could see before looking towards Hustle and Pearl, both of who stood beside him aboard the deck of the Krieg Pirates' ship.

"Yeah! I don't even see any waves, what's the deal with that?" Hustle tilted his head and looked out over the water carefully, trying to analyze it. "Hm! It almost looks like the water is being..." He paused, voice lowering as he looked over his shoulder. "... pulled?"

Just then, the heard it. It was the sound of a colossal vortex nearby. Don Krieg promptly emerged from his chambers, his golden armor glistening in the sun, as he glanced around the deck between his mates. "What the hell's that noise? What's going on?"

Gin quickly ran across to the other side of the ship, the sight before him causing his eyes to widen dramatically. He raised his right hand and pointed out towards the sea. "C-Captain! Whirlpool!"

Don Krieg gritted his teeth as he walked over to peer off towards the whirlpool. They were being pulled towards it, but they were still far enough away to not get pulled into it at a quick rate. Don Krieg stared at it for a moment, apparently in deep thought before suddenly grinning broadly. "Oh, this whirlpool isn't a normal one at all! I've heard of a special one near here before! Heh heh." His grin took a more fiendish appearance before he glanced towards the ship's helmsman. "You there! Change course! Steer the ship straight into the vortex!'

The pirate manning the wheel simply looked back at his captain in shock, as he was unable to comprehend what he was just asked of him. Krieg promptly glared at his subordinate before pulling out a pistol and aiming it directly at him. "I gave you an order. Are you defying it?"

"N-No, Captain Krieg! Absolutely not!" The panicked helmsman nervously changed course and directed the ship straight for the whirlpool.

Pearl nervously looked towards Krieg in confusion, unable to understand what was happening. "Cap... tain? Why... ?"

Krieg merely snickered to himself without turning his attention away from the whirlpool. "Heh. You will see."

Gin and Hustle exchanged worried glances as the ship continued to move towards the whirlpool. What was the Don Krieg thinking? Neither seemed too feel too secure in his decision, nor did first mate Pearl as he glanced back towards them apprehensively. All three suddenly jumped when the pull of the whirlpool made the ship way slightly and pick up speed. Hustle immediately started to panic. "I-I don't wanna die! Captain!"

Krieg looked back at his senior crew members and growled at them. "Shut up and grab hold of something!"

Everyone hastily grabbed onto the ship however they could as it suddenly lurched forward and started to violently rotate around the whirlpool. Gin, Hustle and Pearl all panicked while Don Krieg merely stood in place, without holding onto support, grinning excitedly.

Then, without warning, there was a frightfully large sound as the ship was immediately thrust into the sky, a gargantuan pillar of water blasting as high as the eye could see. Hustle's eyes widened in shock as he began screaming. "WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT IS THIS!? CAPTAIN!"

Don Krieg merely held onto the side of the ship, grinning, not even caring in the least as Hustle suddenly lost his grip and was flung from the ship, his scream quickly fading over the sound of the enormous pillar of water. Gin and Pearl held on tightly, staring in horror at where Hustle had been only a moment ago. Gin turned his attention to Pearl, fear seizing him entirely. "WHAT IS THIS!?"

And then, before anyone knew it, the ship suddenly came to an upright stop... and began to drift. Everyone looked around cautiously, with Pearl glancing into the sky. "B-Blue sky... we're still alive!"

Gin took this moment to walk over to where Don Krieg was, glancing over the edge with him. Despite Krieg showing no surprise, Gin's eyes were as wide as saucers. "W-We're... on the clouds...?"

* * *

After drifting for some time, and with the crew finally settling down, everyone was now enjoying the sight of the clouds that they drifted across. Pearl, who was almost hanging over the side of the ship from trying to look around, stood up and glanced towards Don Krieg. "Captain, how did you know about this? Where are we?"

Krieg simply motioned towards the ship's cabin. "Our newest crewmate."

The door to the cabin opened and Valdivina, who the crew had picked up on the island of Jaya, stepped out wearing an arrogant smirk. "That was the Knock Up Stream, and this is the White White Sea. You have all heard the sky islands, I presume? There are more than you may think. Airtopia, Birka, Skypeia..." Valdivina walked across the deck towards the side, her heels clicking loudly as she did so. "The only question is... which one shall we wind up at?"

Gin looked away from Valdivina, almost out of disdain for the arrogant woman, as he looked off into the distance. He raised a hand to shield his vision from the sun as he squinted, trying his best to determine if there was anything out there. Much to his surprise... "Captain!" Gin's mouth dropped as he pointed to the distance. "There's an island out there!"

Valdivina looked off into the distance and smiled knowingly. "Airtopia."

"How can you tell?" Don Krieg looked at Valdivina inquisitively for a moment, turning his gaze back towards the distant island before her response.

"I have visited it before, Captain Krieg. I would never claim to know the White White Sea well, but I would recognize that island again from anywhere." She flicked her long, red hair and grinned delightedly. "The inhabitants are pushovers, I can promise you that!"

Krieg's eyes did not leave the distant sland that slowly grew in size, his response flat and monotone. "As it should be."

* * *

Krieg's ship sailed for several long minutes before, at last, Airtopia was well within range. The crew immediately noted several curious islanders standing near the side of the island, staring at the ship with great interest. Gin looked back towards them, fascinated by what he saw. "T-They have wings!?"

"They do." Valdivina was already headed back for the cabin. "But they cannot fly."

"Eh?" Pearl looked towards Valdivina as she all but disappeared. "Where are you going? We'll be able to dock in a moment!"

"Yes, that is true." She stood in the doorway to the cabin and glanced over her shoulder. "But I do not care for the cheery attitude of the Airtopians, and someone must watch the ship."

Krieg snickered to himself as the ship drew perilously close to the island. "You're gonna miss all the fun. Pearl, stop the ship."

Pearl nodded in acknowledgement before walking to the edge of the ship. He glanced overboard, staring down at the clouds and gulping quietly before he concentrated and swiftly leaped from the ship to the shore itself. Just as the ship drew close to hitting the island, Pearl ran towards it and immediately placed his pearl-encrusted shields onto it and pushed as hard as he could. The Airtopians, who stood back watching, gasped in surprise as he halted the ship. They watched in awe as Gin threw a steel rope to Pearl, allowing him to secure the ship to a nearby tree.

As the Krieg pirates all leaped off of the ship and onto the island, an elderly Airtopian representative worked his way through the crowd and moved towards the crew to meet them. Approaching Don Krieg, the elderly man extended his hand towards him. "Welcome to our island, outsiders. On behalf of all Airtopians, I would like to welcome you."

"Ah, thanks!" Don Krieg stared at the man blankly before, without an inkling of hesitation, lifted a pistol and pointed it straight to the man's head and pulled the trigger.

 _ **BANG!**_

The elderly man lifelessly dropped to the ground as smoke rose from Krieg's pistol. All of the gathered Airtopians began to panic and scatter. Krieg motioned forward, instructing his crew members to go forward. "Go, round them all up. Take this island in the name of Don Krieg!"

While everyone blindly charged forward, a conflicted Gin looked towards his captain apprehensively before following the others. Krieg stared down at the elderly man he had just shot, his curiousity rising. He bent over, seizing the dead man by a wing and raising him up to glance at both wings. A fiendish grin slowly spread across his face as he looked at the fine, white feathers. "What is this? Hm?"

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	12. The Fierce Clash! Kazuya vs Don Krieg

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 12:** **The Fierce Clash! Kazuya vs Don Krieg**

 _(NOTICE: This is a continuation of the flashback/story from the previous chapter.)_

Don Krieg stared curiously at the snow white feathers that adorned the dead Airtopian man's wing that he held. It was at that moment that he reached up with his free hand and promptly tore at the wing, resulting in feathers flying and down being exposed. Krieg stared at the down with fascination before turning his attention to his crew members who were still withing earshot. "Restrain them and bring them all to me! I will create a display of dominance to show the world, and these false angels will be the source of it!"

Krieg laughed loudly as he tore a handful of down from the wing, admiring its purity before watching his men attempt to round up the Airtopians. Not far behind, Valdivina watched quietly from a window located in the ship's stern. Ahead, Gin's eyes darted between various mates as they tried to leap at and tackle the winged people of the sky island. The ship had docked at a small peninsula, and the only reasonable exit off of it was already being blocked by dozens of Krieg's men. This all seemed... unacceptable. Gin did not want to commit genocide, nor did he want to take part in whatever poaching scheme Don Krieg was hatching. He had become a pirate to be a free man, allowed to do anything he wanted. This? This was not what he wanted and, ever since recovering from Don Krieg's poison that he had been exposed to at the floating Baratie restaurant in East Blue, Gin struggled to respect Don Krieg, let alone feel like he was still part of his crew. Gin gritted his teeth as the Airtopians around him were being severely mistreated and beaten, prompting him to suddenly slam his rod to the ground and look towards Don Krieg. Krieg noticed this and looked towards him and, just as Gin opened his mouth to shout his captain's name and challenge him to a fight, there was a horrific gust of wind that promptly blew many of Krieg's men over. Gin struggled to stay on his feet, shielding himself from the wind with an arm as he looked ahead to try and figure out where it was coming from. Just then, the winds subsided and gusts of air shot together to form a winged man standing several yards in front of Don Krieg.

"You are?" Don Krieg looked at the stranger curiously, an anxious smile taking shape on his face. The man appeared to have the power of a Devil Fruit, which excited him!

The barefoot winged man wore a toga, his left arm exposed with black tattoos of wind currents running down the entirety of his arm. His head, shaved, had a tornado tattooed to his forehead. He simply stared back at Don Krieg, who appeared calm and not intimidated in the very least. "My name is Kazuya, and I am Protector of Airtopia. You, foreigner from the seas below, will _not_ harm my island's people."

"Gwahahaha, is that what you believe!?" A delighted Krieg took a step forward, locking eyes with Kazuya. "If so, then try to stop me! I welcome it!"

Kazuya narrowed his eyes, shaking his head. "Violence does not need to be the answer, foreigner. I am more than willing to allow you to take your people and leave Airtopia unharmed, if only you cease what you are doing at once."

"The only way you will be able to stop me..." Krieg grinned. "... is if you kill me."

A heavy sigh escaped Kazuya as he closed his eyes. "Very well then, foreigner. If forcing my hand is what you truly wish to do, then... kaze kaze no cannon!"

Kazuya quickly shot his hands out, blasting a torrent of air at Don Krieg that harmlessly struck his armor, not phasing him in the least as he took a step forward. Kazuya recoiled in confusion. "W-What? The brute force of a hurricane, and yet you did not move an inch? How is that possible!?"

Krieg began advancing towards Kazuya without a word, simply opting to grin devilishly at him instead. Kazuya gulped and prepared for another attack in an attempt to halt Krieg in his tracks. "Kaze kaze no rampart!"

A giant wall of wind appeared between the two men, the wind currents that made up the wall gusting at such an extreme speed that it was visible to the naked eye. Cannons made of air emerged from the wall emerged and began sending blasts of wind at Don Krieg, but it still had no effect on him. As he reached the wall of wind, he merely started to walk through it, the winds directly around him dissipating immediately. Kazuya's eyes widened, unable to process what was happening. As Krieg's advance continued, Kazuya grew desperate and aimed to finish things with a third attack. "This time, I shall not fail! Kaze kaze no tornado!"

Kazuya's body disappeared, forming a colossal tornado that almost sucked up Krieg's men as well as Airtopians themselves. Krieg simply grinned and continued towards the tornado, which was advancing on him quickly. As the tornado drew perilously close, Krieg remained unphased by the winds and simply snapped his arm forward, reaching into the tornado. The entire tornado immediately dissipated at Krieg pulled Kazuya forward. He reared his fist, showing his intention to punch Kazuya, which prompted the Airtopian man to turn his head into wind. As Krieg's hand came down with great speed, it connected with Kazuya's face, disabling him and forcing him to crash into the ground with a pained cry.

"Logias... Paramecias... Zoans..." Krieg walked to where Kazuya had been crushed into the ground, reaching down and grasping his head as he lifted him up to look at him. "All are useless against me!"

"I... I can't use m-my... w-what are... you?" Kazuya was barely able to spit the words out as he looked at Krieg through puffy eyes.

Krieg simply smiled back, looking like the Devil himself before reaching up with his free hand and violently twisting Kazuya's entire body breaking his neck. "The solution."

As Kazuya dangled lifelessly from Krieg's grasp, the gathered Airtopians began to panic.

 _"What do we do now!?"_

 _"Protector Kazuya has been defeated!"_

 _"There's no hope for us now!"_

Krieg simply dropped Kazuya's lifeless body to the ground like a piece of trash before kicking him onto his stomach so that his wings were exposed. He stared at the wings with a twisted grin before leaning down and pulling them with all his might, ripping them from the corpse that had once been Airtopia's proud guardian. This prompted further cries of anguish and terror from the Airtopians as Krieg inspected them with sick glee. Pearl, who had a helpless young Airtopian woman pinned to the ground, was the first to pipe up. "C-Captain! What should do we now?"

For a moment, Krieg appeared too interested in Kazuya's wings to respond, but he quickly looked out towards his men. "Kill them all and bring me their wings."

* * *

A silent and reflective Gin leaned back in his chair, looking deeply uncomfortable with what he had shared, his eyes having fallen to the ground. "It was then that I knew I could not continue to be a crew member of the Krieg Pirates. I left as soon as we returned to the sea."

"Their wings?" Franky looked both disturbed and perplexed.

Zoro, who sat with his arms crossed and wore a furious expression, chimed in. "What did he need them for?"

An awkward Paulie sat in silence as Gin responded, though he did not lift his gaze. "To mark his dominance."

* * *

A silently forlorn Conis sat within her cell, laying on the cold stone floor as she stared down at it soundlessly, absently tracing a finger through the cracks. Why was this happening to her? What did she do to deserve this?

 _Click... click... click..._

Finger freezing and raising from the floor, the hair on the back of Conis' neck quickly rose at the sound of approaching footsteps. They were slow and ominous sounding. Her head raised as she watched and waited. It only took a few moments more for the silhouette of Don Krieg to appear in the distance. Conis gulped at the sight of it but, as he approached, horror quickly overcame her as she looked at the cape he wore. The same cape from before! Was it what she thought it was?

Don Krieg halted just in front of her cell, a twisted and malevolent grin plasted on his face as he genntly stroked the cape. There was no denying it, and Conis' fears were soon confirmed. "Do you see this cape? Beautiful, isn't it? That is because... this wondrous material that it has been covered in... is down from the wings of your people."

Conis gulped loudly, her eyes started to tear up as she looked at the cape that was made from the wings of her own kind, spotting one solitary patch of brown that was lacking any presence of down. Don Krieg licked his lips excitedly before laughing maniacally. "Gwahahaha! And soon, my pretty little thing, your down will be added to it!"

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	13. Where's the Exit? Outrun the Hatchlings

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 13:** **Where's the Exit? Outrun the Hatchlings!**

A breathless Robin ran as fast as she could, peering towards Brook as he ran alongside her with the unconscious Usopp over his shoulder. "Brook? I can't run much longer."

Brook could tell that Robin was starting to tire as she panted heavily. They had been trying to find the exit to the cave for some time now and, all the while, the spider hatchlings had been chasing them down. He looked over his shoulder at the horde fo hatchlings that were hot on their heels. If only he didn't have Usopp, he would try to hold them off. "Yohohoho! You can last, Robin! I believe in you!"

Robin swallowed hard and continued to run. She would try her best, but even she knew what was bound to happen. Her pace was already slower than it had been when they started running. She glanced towards Usopp and furrowed her brow. He had groaned a few times, but he had not yet woken from his fall. "Brook, we should try to wake Usopp up. We may nee-"

Both were brought to a full stop as the spider broodmother from the forest reappeared in front of them, hissing angrily. Its caramel coating had still not regenerated from before. As the broodmother hissed, the hatchlings stopped as if to obey their mother. The loud sound of the hissing was also enough to cause Usopp's eyes to open groggily. As the blur from his vision faded, he was left staring at the hundreds of hatchlings behind them, which prompted...

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! SPIDERS! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SPIDERS!?" He started to shake dramatically out of sheer fear, but that wasn't enough to stop him from acting desperately. He fell off of Brook's shoulder and promptly reached into his pouch to pull out several small balls which he immediately launched at the hatchlings. "Kaen Dama! Kaen Dama! Kaen Dama! Kaen Dama! Kaen Dama!"

With every successive ball launched, a blast of fire appeared within the crowd of hatchlings, causing them to panic. "Kokkara Koko Made Hairu na no Jutsu!"

Without warning, Usopp fired a blast of oil into the crowd of spiders, setting the entire room alight behind them and forcing all of the hatchlings to scurry away in the other direction. Breathing heavily, Usopp suddenly stood proudly and pointed to himself. "Ha! That was a piece of cake! Captain Usopp fears no spiders!"

Robin blinked. "Usopp."

"Yes! I, Captain Usopp, vanquish spiders for a living! Haha!"

Brook shifted uncomfortably. "Usopp."

"Haha! I welcome all spiders to challenge me, the great Captain Usopp! I will defeat all of you!"

Robin and Brook, both growing tired, joined in together. "USOPP."

"Eh?" Usopp turned to face them, immediately being greeted by the gargantuan broodmother as well. "AAAAAAAAH! T-T-T-THE G-G-GIANT SPIDER FROM B-B-BEFORE!"

Robin sighed and looked at Brook. "Are you ready, Brook?"

Brook gave a firm nod in response. "Mm!"

Turning their attention towards the broodmother, Brook ran forward as Robin readied herself. "Treinta Fleur! Clutch!" As thirty hands quickly sprouted along the cave walls, the broodmother's front four legs were quickly grabbed and held in place, prompting it to grow agitated.

Brook leaped into the air, withdrawing his blade from his cane and slashing at the broodmother. "Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri!"

One of the spider's legs was swiftly cut off, causing it to become uncontrollably aggressive. Robin grimaced as it struggled against her hands, breaking free in the end and swatting at Brook with another leg and just narrowly missing him, but still causing him to careen into a wall. "Yohohoho, that was close!"

Robin promptly ran forward, darting undearneath a leg and sprouting more arms along one side of the wall and giving the broodmother a sudden shove. The giant spider toppled to the side, violently colliding with the opposite wall as it hissed hatefully. Brook leaped forward again, slashing at the spider's face and cutting off its mandibles. This prompted further rage as it swung at Brook, this time hitting him and sending him flying.

"BROOK!" Usopp, finally overcoming his fear enough to be even remotely dependable, starting digging through his satchel. As the broodmother turned its attention towards Robin and swung a leg at her, Usopp found what he was looking for. With a grin, he pulled out an impact dial. He quickly set it in his slingshot and released it, firing it straight at the broodmother. The dial collided with the spider's face, causing the dial to trigger and release its stored power. There was a colossal blast as the spider was sent flying backwards, slamming heavily into the wall dozens of feet back. The rock formations above gave way and quickly buried the broodmother.

A breathless Robin looked at Usopp with a satisfactory smile. "Well done, Usopp!"

Before Usopp could replace his fear with gloating, more rocks started to tumble from the cave's ceiling. Brook ran back to Robin and Usopp. "Yohohoho, Usopp damaged the entire cave, how perilous! it's dangerous to stay here!"

"Let's go!" Robin motioned forward as the three started running. She peered towards Usopp curiously, feeling the need to ask what was on her mind. "Usopp, what was stored in that dial?"

"Ah, yeah! When Luffy and I fought, we realized how strong the dials are when we stored his punches, so he used Gear Third on a few for me and... ha, I didn't expect it to be so strong!"

"I see." Robin turned her gaze ahead once more. "Hurry, we need to escape before this cave collapses on us!"

* * *

"Uuunngghh..." Luffy opened his eyes, staring up at the sky above.

"Oi, the boy's awake! Boy, can you move please?"

Raising his head, Luffy spotted several workers who were busily foraging the grasses around him. Luffy peered all around, noticing that he was in a giant fjord covered in all sorts of grass of different colours and shades. A magnificent et slow moving river of white liquid ran through the valley in the bottom of the fjord, which is where Luffy had awoken. He jumped up and looked all around. "Huh? Where am I?"

One of the workers scurried over and started foraging where Luffy had been laying as another motioned around himself. "This is Sugarcane Fjord, where we harvest our supply of sugar! You won't find more sugarcane anywhere on the Grand Line!"

"Sugarcane... Fjord?" Luffy stared off in space for a moment before looking around. "This isn't where I wanna be! Old guys, how do I get to Marshmallow Marsh?"

"OH! I CAN TAKE YOU THERE!" A large man appeared nearby, munching on sugarcane. "I AM BEEK! I RUN A CAFE IN MARSHMALLOW MARSH, BUT A PURPLE LADY DROPPED ME THROUGH A SHADOW HOLE AND I ENDED UP HERE!" Beek looked all around before staring up at the cliffs above. "BUT... WE NEED TO GET UP ABOVE IF WE WANT TO GET BACK! THAT MIGHT BE HARD..."

Luffy only grinned from ear to ear as he ran over and grabbed hold of Beek. "Nah, I can get us up there! Hold on tight! Gomu gomu noooooo -"

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	14. Sabrina Reappears, Major Hina's Arrival

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 14:** **Sabrina Reappears, Major Hina's Arrival!**

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Beek thrashed about wildly in a terrified panic as he shot through the air with Luffy. They were so high up in the air! "I AM GOING TO DIEEEEE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, STRETCHY BOOOOOOOOY!?"

Luffy could only respond by laughing merrily at Beek's terror. "Loud guy, you're funny!"

As Luffy landed gracefully on the ridge above with Beek in tow, the latter dramatically crashed into the ground and rolled away making a plethora of amusing cries of pain. As Beek finally came to a stop, Luffy looked around curiously, his eyes falling to the ground. He simply stared at it, blinking for the longest while before turning his attention to Beek as he came stumbling over. "Oi, loud guy, why's the ground look like this up here?"

Luffy pointed to the ground which, unlike in the valley below, was not covered in a variety of grasses. It was, instead, a rocky surface covered in fine, white powder. "OH! THIS IS NOT GROUND, STRETCHY BOY!" Beek leaned down and pullef off a part of what looked like rock and stuck it in his mouth. "THE TOP OF THESE RIDGES ARE COVERED IN EXCESS ROCK CANDY! THE WHITE POWDER IS SUGAR THAT HAS BROKEN DOWN AND SEPARATED FROM THE CANDY."

"Rock candy!?" Luffy's eyes lit up excitedly as he dropped to the ground and hastily bit into the ground, tearing up a large chunk of the rock candy as he promptly started chewing it and grinding it up. "Oooooh! This is so good!"

Beek was about to respond, but his attention started to wander as he peered around the sugary ridges of Sugarcane Fjord curiously. "SOMETHING IS AMISS."

Luffy looked up from another chomping of rock candy. "Huh?"

"THE SUGAR SQUIRRELS ARE NOWHERE TO BE SEEN! THEY ARE SQUIRRELS NATIVE TO BON BON ISLAND THAT EAT NOTHING BUT CANDIES AND SUGARCANE, AND THEY ARE ALWAYS PLAYING ON TOP OF THESE RIDGES, BUT..." Beek looked all around curiously. "THEY ARE ONLY NOT HERE WHEN IT IS NIGHTTIME O IF THEY ARE SCARED."

Luffy, still chomping on rock candy, stood up and looked around with Beek at the mention of the sugar squirrels possibly having been scared off. Beek looked perplexed and worried as he slowly scanned the ridges until he saw her. Standing one ridge over and watching them through a hole that she had opened up on the edge of their ridge. Beek tensed up, immediately starting to sweat as he pointed towards the figure. "I-I-IT'S THE HOLE WOMAN AGAIN!"

"Whole woman?" Luffy tilted his head as he looked at Beek in confusion before following the direction he pointed in. When Luffy saw the hole, his eyes widened in delight. "Oh, hole woman! Ooooooh! What's with the hole?"

"DO NOT GO IN THE HOLE, STRETCHY BOY. IT GOES WHEREVER SHE CHOOSES. SHE ABDUCTED MISS PRETTY LADY WITH HER HOLES!"

"Miss Pretty Lady?" Luffy, growing confused again, turned his attention back to Beek again. "Who's that?"

"MISS PRETTY LADY IS NAMED CONIS. SHE PLAYS THE HARP!"

Eyes widening in surprise, the normally forgetful Luffy at the very least could never forget a friend. "C-Conis!? Oi, loud guy, did she have wings?"

Beek merely gave a firm nod in response. "PRETTY WHITE WINGS."

Turning his gaze back to the woman, Luffy pointed at her and yelled abruptly. "HEY! GIVE CONIS BACK, DAMN HOLE WOMAN!"

"Do not refer to me as 'damn hole woman', you irksome boy! My name is Sabrina! And if you want the sky islander... then you're going to have to find her." Sabrina sneered at Luffy, crossing her arms as she stared him down from across the ridge.

Luffy gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow before letting out a yell. "HOLY WOMAN! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS! GOMU GOMU NO-" Sabrina smirked as Luffy reared up for an attack. "- PISTOL!"

As Luffy's arm flew towards Sabrina, she merely dropped into a hole beneath her, vanishing from sight completely. Luffy's eyes widened as he arm returned, quickly glancing around before looking at Beek. "Loud guy! Where'd she go!?"

"THAT IS HER DEVIL FRUIT POWER, STRETCHY BOY. SHE DID NOT SEEM TO BE HERE TO FIGHT. WHAT PURPOSE DID HER PRESENCE SERVE?"

Luffy merely glared towards where Sabrina had stood before speaking to Beek once again. "Oi, loud guy. Show me how to get to Marshmallow Marsh."

* * *

"Ungh, shit..." Sanji clenched his head as he stood up, vision blurry from just waking up. He could barely remember anything after he jumped into the sinkhole to try and save Luffy other than being thrown around inside the underwater river an awful lot. "All that banging around must've knocked me out."

Raising to his feet slowly, Sanji reached into his coat and pulled out a wet cigarette that promptly drooped and broke in two. Sanji simply glared down at the broken cigarette and growled before taking the time to survey the area around himself. He was resting on the sandy shore of a small inlet, a waterfall nearby that he had possibly dropped from. He peered towards the end of the inlet, which was only several dozen feet away, catching sight of a fine and sandy beach. "So it took me out to the shore, huh?"

Still grumbling over his wet cigarette, Sanji carefully made his way along the inlet until he reached the shore, looking down the beach and seeing nothing but an expanse of sand. Was there nothing here? Then, when he turned to look up the beach, Sanji froze in his tracks. In the distance, he could see it. A flag bearing the mark of the Marines, something that he never thought he would see on this island. He looked at the sizable ship that the flag clung to for a moment before looking past the ship and catching sight of a large formation of officers littering the beach. It was then that Sanji saw her. "Shit! This is the last thing we need right now!"

* * *

"You two, stay behind and man the ship." Major Hina looked back and forth between Fullbody and Jango, turning before even acknowledging their responses.

"Yes, Major Hina!" Fullbody proudly saluted his commander.

Jango copied the salute, blushing and grinning at the same time. "We will guard the ship for our lives for you, Major Hina!"

Their words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Hina slowly descended from her ship, looking further up the coast towards the lollipop forest she did so. The Straw Hats' vessel was in that direction, docked at a local port town. Hina had smartly decided to anchor further down the shore, out of sight from anyone who might be on the ship. When she reached the sandy shore, she glanced over the assembled officers, all of whom promptly saluted her.

"At ease." Hina's cigarette bobbed in her mouth as she surveyed her men. "Our mission on this island is to determine the wherabouts of the Straw Hat pirates and, if possible, apprehend them." She paced back and forth slightly, keeping her gaze on the officers. "We will not do as officers have done by underestimating them. The Straw Hat crew is strong, and we must be on guard when approaching them. Preferrably, do not engage any of them without my presence! Understood?"

"Yes, Major Hina!"

"Hina happy." Hina then shot her arm up, motioning for her men to disperse. "Move out!"

As her men began to wander off the beach and onto the island, Hina watched them for a moment before looking back towards the lollipop beach and sneering, knowing that the Straw Hats' ship was in that direction. Turning, she peered off towards the other end of the beach, somewhat relaxed by the sight of the pristine beach... but then she spotted a spot of black in the distance. A figure. Someone dressed in black. Eyes narrowing, Hina slowly started down the beach in the direction of the figure.

"Hina investigate."

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_**


	15. Kiss of Deception, Valdivina's Secret

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 15:** **Kiss of Deception, Valdivina's Secret**

Eyes almost closed, tall glass of lemonade in hand, Claudio rocked back and forth in the hammock that was secured snugly between two trees. The inhabitants of Spicetown busily slaved away in the distance, but there was another body only several feet away from Claudio that was also working away.

"Ya know..." Claudio took a long sip of his lemonade, savouring every bit of it. "Ahhh, that hit the spot... but, yeah, you don't have to do any of that. We've got a whole town full of people that we could use." With his free hand, Claudio motioned to Morgan as he set up block after block of wood, chopping each for firewood.

"I don't care." Morgan paused for a moment, glancing over his shoulder slightly towards Claudio. "Gives me something to do besides watching these shitty people build our next ship." He turned his attention back to the current block of wood, bringing his axe-hand down on it hard and splitting it in two. "And I've been growing tired of not cutting anything since we landed."

Claudio took another long sip of lemonade before leaning back and closing his head. "Suit yourself, big guy." Letting out a relaxed sigh, he simply laid in the hammock to soak up the sun as Morgan continued to chop blocks of wood in half... but then the sun's warmth felt blocked, a cool shade spreading over Claudio, prompting him to crack one eye open. "Hm?"

"Claudio." Valdivina hovered over him, eyeing him through gritted teeth. "I don't remember almost half an hour of my day today. You used your power on me again, didn't you?"

After another sip of lemonade, Claudio simply smirked up at her and gave the most blunt answer possible. "Yeah, I did. I wanted to scare Pearl with that tiger form of yours. You should've seen his face when I jum-"

Claudio's words were cut off as Valdivina grabbed hold of his shirt, pulling him up and glaring at him. "Did you take my clothes off, you bastard!?"

"What!?" Claudio looked surprised before he burst into laughter, eyes tearing up. "Bwahahaha, why do you always freak out over that? I've never done that to you, Val! I don't care about your body, I'm no pervert! Cut me some slack here, eh!?"

Valdivina's glare continued for a moment longer before she simply released him, shoving him back into the hammock as she stormed off. After she was far enough away, Morgan paused and looked towards Claudio. "You're quite the liar, little pervert man."

"H-HEY!" Claudio sat up quickly, almost falling out of the hammock. "Don't say a word to her about that! I was telling her the truth though, I've never taken her clothes off! There's a difference between doing that and just grabbing those boobs of hers! I don't know why she's so uptight about people seeing her without anything on though, sheesh."

Morgan simply grunted before he returned to chopping his wood.

* * *

Sanji collapsed and stared towards the waterfall he likely dropped from before with a loud huff. He really needed a cigarette, especially after spotting the Marine ship up the coast. He had no idea why they were on the island, but he knew that he had to alert the rest of the crew. The only question was... where on the island was he? More importantly though, where were Nami and Robin? Sanji stood up and peered up towards the top of the waterfall. "Maybe I can see better from up there?"

"That depends on what you're looking for." The female response from behind Sanji was completely unexpected, but he seemed initially oblivious to it.

"Yeah. I need to find my way to that Marshmallow Marsh place and... meet up with..." Sanji blinked quickly before looking over his shoulder at the source of the voice, eyes widening suddenly at the sight of Hina staring back. He slowly turned around, staring at her through gritted teeth. "M-Marine! I... I can't hit you, damn it! Y-You're... too... BEAUTIFUL!" As Sanji immediately became lovestruck over Hina, she curled her lip in disgust before roundhouse kicking him in the face and sending him soaring into a nearby tree.

"Hina annoyed."

Sanji groaned as he sat up, staring towards Hina. What was he going to do about this? "I... I can't hit a face that pretty!"

As Sanji showed further apprehension, Hina started to swing her fist at him but paused. She stared at him, blinking slowly as an enamoured Sanji's heart-eyed face looked back. The realization of what she was up against dawned on her as she forced herself to don a seductive smile for Sanji as she leaned towards his face. "I'm sorry that I hit you! Do you really think I'm pretty?"

Sanji, mouth hanging open in a permanent smile of delight, nodded fiercely as he began to babble mindlessly. _"M-Mellorine, Mellorine, Mellorine..."_

Hina drew closer, her lips perilously close to Sanji's as he became even more enraptured. She wrapped her arms around him loosely before, suddenly, she tightened her grip. Hina's arms suddenly passed straight through Sanji's torso, creating a restraint around him that promptly bound his arms to his chest and pushing him over. As Sanji fell onto the ground, he looked up at her with puppy-dog eyed. "B-B-But... we were going to kiss!?"

Hina simply stared back at him blankly before leaning down and passing her arms over Sanji's legs, creating a restraint to bind them together. Reaching down, Hina grabbed him and hoisted him to his feet before pushing him forward. "Move."

"B-But..." Sanji looked towards her, teary-eyed and lustful. "Were we..."

Another shove, prompting him to move forward once again. As the lovestruck chef continued to wonder where the kiss was, Hina slowly forced him to hop out of the forest and back onto the beach and pointed towards her ship. However, after several minutes of listening to Sanji, who didn't seem to come out of his love trance, Hina gritted her teeth and growled angrily as she grabbed him and spun him around. "DO YOU EVER STOP!?"

Upon seeing Hina's face once again, Sanji's rambling resumbled. _"Mellorine! Mellooooooriiiiine!"_

Hina felt a vein in her forehead desperately wanting to pop as she glared at him. Why wouldn't he shut up? What was wrong with the man that she recognized as Black Leg Sanji? Was he really this useless around women? As Sanji's head bobbed back and forth, Hina eventually grew fed up and decided to try something drastic. Reaching up with a hand, she seized his chin to keep his head still, bringing her face in and planting a surprisingly passionate kiss on his lips. It meant nothing to Hina, but it was the only thing she could think of that might work. After a few seconds, she pulled back and glared at him. "Are you satisfied now? Will you shut up?"

"M-Mello..." Sanji's face was beat-red, his nose bleeding slightly as his head suddenly fell over, the embrace rendering him fully unconscious. Hina stared back at Sanji, glad that he was out cold, but at what cost? She growled to herself before wiping her lips on her sleeve.

"Hina disgusted."

* * *

Valdivina stepped into her quarters, closing and latching the door behind her as she approached her mirror. She stared at her reflection almost apprehensively before turning and lifting her hands to the back of her dress. Carefully, she unzipped it and let it fall to the floor as her two large, black wings popped out. Valdivina sighed to herself as she looked at her reflection, wings and all. Keeping her wings hidden was such a bothersome and uncomfortable thing to do, and the rare pleasant moments she had by herself that allowed her to let her wings out were few and far between.

Her eyes fell upon her wings, which were black as the night sky, which prompted a few stray tears to erupt and roll down her cheeks. Though Don Krieg's lust for the wings of those who lived in the sky was her main reason for concealing her wings in recent times, the reason for her wings being hidden dated back many years prior...

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	16. Airtopia's Prophecy, Black Wings of Omen

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 16:** **Airtopia's Prophecy, Black Wings of Omen**

 _Twenty years ago..._

"Valdivina!" Eris glanced towards the stairs of her quaint Airtopian home, awaiting a response from her daughter. As her young ten year old daughter reached the top of the steps, she smiled down to her mother. Before she could even pipe up, Eris beckoned her down. "There you are, come on down now. Your father's ceremony is happening shortly, you know!"

"Yes mother!" As the young Valdivina bounded down the stairs, Eris watched her daughter's black wings for a moment and sighed.

"Valdivina..." Eris motioned towards her daughter's black wings. "Where are your wing coverings? We can't leave without them."

"Oh, right!" Valdivina jumped in surprise before running back up the stairs, thumping to her bedroom and returning with her wing coverings that Eris had made for her. Made from salvaged feathers from various birds, the white wing coverings slipped over Valdivina's black wings effortly and hid them from sight. As Valdivina worked the coverings on, she looked at Eris curiously. "Mom? Will I ever have to not wear these?"

Eris swallowed hard before glancing down at the floor. She had been over this before, but... Valdivina never gave up hope. She glanced back to her daughter and shook her head. "No dear, not until we can make your wings white."

Valdivina frowned in response. "B-But... I like my wings! I don't care if they'd scare people!"

Eris' eyes widened as her voice suddenly rose several levels. "Valdivina, nobody in Airtopia other than your father and I can ever see your wings! We would all be forced to leave our home forever, we cannot have that! Especially after today when your father is appointed to his new position!"

Frowning, Valdivina's eyes fell to the ground. "Okay..."

Eris had told her daughter all about why her wings were such a bad thing to Airtopians. It was prophecized hundreds of years back that a child with black wings would one day be born and lead to Airtopia's demise. It was a loaded story to unleash on a child's mind, and the young Valdivina didn't truly understand why her wings were a bad thing for several years. Her wings were supposedly an ominous sign of Airtopia's apocalypse and needed to be hidden from everyone. Of course, Eris and her husband never saw it that way. They simply saw Valdivina as their beautiful young daughter, refusing to believe the prophecy regarding the black winged child.

"Okay, Valdivina, take my hand. Let's go see your father!" Eris smiled warmly to her daughter, extending her hand out towards her. Fighting her frown off, Valdivina managed to smile in return as she took her mother's hand and moved to head outside.

* * *

"People of Airtopia!" The elderly sage Momubo, who stood at a podium before the gathered mass of Airtopians, extended his hands towards them. "We are gathered her today to not only commemorate the life of the previous Protector of Airtopia, Shindo, but to also join in celebration of the appointment of the new Protector!"

Everyone who had gathered applauded wildly, arms in the air as Momubo motioned towards his side. "Please, people of Airtopia, welcome our newest Protector! Kazuya!"

Eris and Valdivina cheered louder than everyone as Kazuya approached the podium. Kazuya, wife to Eris and father to Valdivina, took the podium and smiled to everyone before him. "Family! Friends! Fellow Airtopians!" More cheers erupted from the crowd as Kazuya laughed modestly, shaking his head at the level of support he received. "With all my heart, I am eternally grateful to accept this position that you have all selected me for! I will do my utmost to protect Airtopia from harm for the rest of my days, for the sake of our children and our children's children!"

Momubo's old face smiled tiredly as he shuffled over towards Kazuya, who inclined his head. Momubo gently placed a circlet onto Kazuya's head, prompting more cheering from the gathered Airtopians. As Kazuya stood back up straight, Momubo turned to face the crowd. "With the donning of the Sacred Circlet of Air, Kazuya is now the six hundred and thirty fifth Protector of Airtopia! Rejoice!"

Everyone, again, cheered for their new Protector. Eris and Valdivina exchanged euphoric smiles before looking back towards the pdoium as Momubo waved to them. "Kazuya's family! Come, celebrate the ascension!"

As Eris shuffled to move past everyone, Valdivina broke out into an excited run as she made a bee-line for the podium. However, halfway to the podium, she accidentally tripped over the foot of one of the Airtopians who had gathered and went tumbling to the ground. Everyone's excitement turned to sheer shock and terror as Valdivina's wing coverings sprung off as she tumbled, exposing her black wings. An eerie silence fell over the gathered masses at the sight of Valdivina's true wings. Kazuya stood stone-faced and horrified as his wife, Eris, ducked her head in shame.

As whispers started to loudly spread throughout the masses of the prophecy and the black winged child, Momubo stepped towards Kazuya slowly. "Kazuya... your girl..." He glanced off towards Valdivina, who was now sitting up and looking at every around her recoiling in fear. "She is the black winged child, the one that the prophecy spoke of?"

Kazuya's eyes rested solely on his daughter, his gaze not leaving her once. "It would appear so, Momubo."

For a moment, not a word was exchanged between the two until Momubo spoke up loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Kazuya, if your daughter is the black winged ill omen that the propehcy speaks off, then we cannot in good conscience appoint to as Protector of Airtopia unless... you remove your daughter from Airtopia at once."

Kazuya glanced at Momubo with wide eyes, Eris doing the same from the crowd. "Elder Momubo..." Kazuya furrowed his brow as he glanced back towards Valdivina, a look of despair on his face as he lingered on her for some time before reaching up and removing the circlet that rested on his head, handing it to Momubo. "I will do no such thing. I love my daughter, and I will never sacrifice her for my own personal gain!"

Valdivina could do little else but stare up towards her father, eyes beginning to blur with tears. Were her wings really that terrible!?

* * *

"Kazuya..." Eris put her arm around her husband and hugged him lightly as he sat on their couch, staring at the floor in thought. "Momubo will be here soon. They won't rest until some form of action is taken against..." Her voice trailed off, becoming quiet. "... our daughter."

Just as Kazuya spoke the words, there was a knock on the door. He furrowed his brow and let out a long sigh before standing, letting Eris' arms drop, as he walked towards the door. He stared at it for a long moment, long enough for another knock to come, before he opened it and peered down at Momubo. "Elder Momubo."

Momubo nodded in response. "Where is your daughter, Kazuya? We must... do something about this. You know this?"

Kazuya had no intention of surrending his daughter, but nodded and allowed Momubo in. "She is in her bedroom. Sleeping, I hope. Do you want to see her?"

Momubo shuffled idly, almost impatiently. "Before we decide on a course of action, I must see the black wings for myself. Take me to her, Kazuya."

Nodding, Kazuya began to escort Momubo to their stairs, Eris in tow behind them. "There must be a way, Elder Momubo? For no action to be taken? She is my daughter."

"I am aware of this, Kazuya. Valdivina is a wonderful little girl, but you know what the prophecy states. Airtopia, as a whole, is more important than the fate of one little girl."

As they reached the door to Valdivina's bedroom, Kazuya glared slightly towards Momubo as he pondered how he was going to get his daughter out of this unharmed. Swallowing hard, he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open gently... to reveal an empty bedroom. The eyes of all three opened wide as Eris shot into the bedroom. "Valdivina! Where did she go!?"

Kazuya growled as he turned and grabbed Momubo by the collar, lifting him and staring him in the eyes. "Momubo! What did you do with her? Where is my daughter!?"

"I-I did nothing! Kazuya, please!" Momubo squirmed helplessly as Kazuya dropped him, letting him stumble as he backed away slightly. "This is not my doing! I swear to you!"

As Kazuya and Eris ran into the room and looked around frantically, Momubo pointed towards the open bedroom window. "E-Eris! Kazuya!"

As the two looked towards the open window, Kazuya ran towards it and stuck his head out, looking around wildly. "Valdivina! Where are you? Valdivina!"

Little did anyone know that the young girl was already well on her way to fleeing from Airtopia, not only to protect herself but to allow her father to rise to the position he rightfully deserved.

* * *

Through tear-stained vision, Valdivina sighed and readjusted her dress to make sure that her black wings were both hidden underneath it and her flowing red hair. It was, at that moment, that there was a sharp knock on the door as Juzo's loud voice boomed through the door. "Valdivina! Sabrina returned with urgent news! Captain Krieg wants us to assemble immediately!"

Valdivina swallowed hard before glancing towards the door and doing her best to speak in a composed voice. "O-Okay! I'll be there in a moment!"

With one final glance back at her reflection, Valdivina sighed quietly. She had, in the end, been the doom of Airtopia by bringing Don Krieg to her former home. That was in the past now, and there was no undoing it. For her sake, and for the sake of the purest of emotions in her heart, she had to protect her secret.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	17. Hina and Sanji, Unlikely Allies Unite

_"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."_

 _"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."_

 _"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 17:** **Hina and Sanji, Unlikely Allies Unite**

"Straw Hat Luffy?" Don Krieg leaned back in his large stone chair as he peered out towards his gathered crew, criss-crossing her fingers as he rested his chin against his hands, grinning slightly from behind his fingers. "On this very island?"

"I said that he was wearing a straw hat, didn't I?" Sabrina's voice was laced with sarcasm as she crossed her arms. "I thought you said he had a crew, though? The only one with him was the fat man from the cafe that I told you about."

"He has a crew." Krieg lowered his hands, his grin evident. "Straw Hat Luffy, hmph! That is one rematch that I will relish! Word is that the boy's worth three hundred thousand now. Sounds like he's gotten stronger, heh heh... but so have I."

"Then that must mean... Roronoa Zoro?" Morgan's eyes shifted back and forth in thought before he rested his good hand on the back of his axe-hand. "I scheduled his execution long ago, but that gnat was freed by Monkey D. Luffy. I will see to it that his execution is carried out."

Krieg raised a hand to signal for Morgan to exercise patience. "In time, Morgan. Our ship is almost complete and, when it is, we will bury the Straw Hat crew along with the rest of this disgusting island!"

"Bury it?" Bonne Blight looked at Krieg curiously, not following what he was planning. "How will we bury an entire island?"

"Isn't it obvious? Chocolate Volcano!" After hearty laugh, Krieg looked towards the corner of the room where a lightly bruised Conis had been brought and shackled to the wall. "And the icing on the cake? We have the perfect bait to lure them in with!"

* * *

"Ugh, what... ?" Sanji's eyebrows furrowed at the sensation of being dragged through fine powder, causing his eyes to open. Above him, clouds lazily drifted overhead. He let his head hang to the side, watching the sand of the beach slowly moving past him. "Huh?"

"Don't start again." Sanji peered up to the the back of Hina as she dragged him along through the sand. "I am not going to repeat what I did again."

"What do you..." Sanji tried to recall what she meant, and it didn't take him long to remember, prompting him to become lovestruck again.

Without warning, Hina quickly snapped around and kicked Sanji's side, sending him rolling away several feet. "SILENCE!" As she approached him, she leaned down and grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head up and glaring at him. "This is not supposed to be a fun experience for you! I'm bringing you to your captain, if I can find him, and I am going to offer to turn you offer in exchange for his arrest! As he approaches, I plan on feigning your release, instead restraining Monkey D. Luffy. From there, the rest of your crew should not be difficult to arrest."

"Heh." Sanji grinned as a light stream of blood trickled from his mouth. "You haven't seen our crew for a while, have you?"

Hina merely sneered in response before reaching down and dragging Sanji along once more. "You underestimate my Ori Ori no Mi powers, Black Leg Sanji."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, but... oi!" Sanji was silent until Hina paused and looked back to him. He peered back, looking at the cigarette sitting between her lips. "Can I have a smoke?"

There was silence for a moment between the two as Hina simply stared at him before she removed her cigarette and checked the length. It was already half gone. Shrugging lightly, she leaned down and stuck it between Sanji's lips. "You're not deserving of a full cigarette."

"Yeah, whatever. Thanks." Sanji averted his gaze, trying to keep himself in check due to the fact that the cigarette he now had was previously touching Hina's lips. Keeping his eyes focused on everything but her would be the best things for both of them right now.

 _"AROOOO!?"_

"I said shut up!" Hina snapped around, glaring at Sanji who was busily looking around for the souce of the sound to reply. Hina, realizing that it wasn't Sanji, raised her gaze and looked around. Just then, she wa suddenly whipped hard in the back, sending for falling onto the ground. "What the!?"

Hina and Sanji both turned their gaze to glimpse one of the strangest creatures either of them had ever seen. Standing before them was something that resembled a large but slender iguana covered in a molasses-like substance. Hina growled as she climbed to her feet. "Must I really fight animals now? Hina angry."

Darting forward, Hina whipped her hand at the lizard, wrapping a large restraint around the animal. As she then swung her foot in an attempt to kick it in the head, the iguana slipped itself out from the restraint and delivered a strong head butt to Hina's chest, sending her spiralling back and into a tree. She groaned lightly before looking up through one eye. "H-How did it slip out of my restraint? What's coating that lizard!?"

Crawling to her feet once more, Hina leaped forward and waved her hands in a frenzy, attempting to wrap numerous restraints on the lizard. Despite having its arms bound to its chest and its legs and tail restrained together, the lizard still slipped out and promptly whipped Hina several times in the face with its tail, sending her facefirst into the ground. For a moment, she laid still until she finally raised her head and coughed up a small amount of blood. "D-Damn it! My abilities won't work on this thing!?"

Scurrying over to Hina, the iguana rose upright and stepped on her. _"AROOOO!?"_

Sanji's eyes widened as the lizard's tail raised, the molasses on the end receding to reveal a sharply pointed nail. Without warning, it suddenly drove its tail into Hina's back as it hissed excitedly, Hina crying out loudly as a result and desperately trying to claw herself away. Sanji bounced himself into a sitting position before shouting at Hina. "Oi! Marine woman! Get these off of me, or that thing's gonna beat both of us! I can help!"

As the iguana brought a heavy foot down on Hina's head, she resisted the urge to cry out as she stared at Sanji through one eye, her vision becoming blurry as a result of her attempt to ignore the pain in her back. Hina held up an arm weakly towards him and clenched her fist, the restraints that bound him suddenly falling off. Standing up straight, Sanji readjusted the cigarette as he glared at the iguana. "Oi, lizard. Get away from the girl."

The iguana stared back at him before suddenly leaping at him. Sanji glared back and, when it was within range, he leaped forward. "Poitrine Shoot!" Delivering a swift kick to the iguana's belly, it was launched in the air with an angry hiss. As it approached the ground, Sanji hopped onto one leg and prepared his follow-up attack.

 _"Cotelette!"_

As Sanji's legs hammered the iguana over and over again, it appeared to lose consciousness and then suddenly flew dozens of feet away, landing on its head and slowly falling over. Sanji stared at it for a moment to make sure it did not get up before turning his gaze to the injured Hina. Running over, he knelt beside her and helped her into a sitting position. "Oi! Are you okay!?"

Hina, badly battered, looked up at him as she coughed up a trickle of blood before responding through gritted teeth. "What do you think, pirate!? Hina hurt."

Without a second thought, Sanji suddenly scooped her up in his arms and looked around wildly. "Hang on! We're gonna get help! Damn it, where are we!?"

All Hina could do was lifeless stare up at Sanji, confusd over being saved by a pirate. She did not like this outcome one bit, but she was powerless to resist. Not wanting to endure the pain, she closed her eyes tightly and did prayed to lose consciousness.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


End file.
